Of Princesses and Black Cats
by charredfeathers
Summary: After four years, they finally meet again. Eve starts to realize her true feelings for Train… but doesn’t know if she should tell him or not, for fear of experiencing a second heartbreak. ON HIATUS.
1. Milk and Apples

**Of Princesses and Black Cats **

**Summary: **After four years, they finally meet again. Eve starts to realize her true feelings for Train… but doesn't know if she should tell him or not, for fear of experiencing a second heartbreak.

**Author-person: **I actually started writing this a few years back and only got the idea of pursuing it again just recently…

Just writing this to avoid the ideas from going out of my head… As some of you may know… I experience frequent writer's block…. So I REEEAALLY have to do this…

Some OOC-ness here.

But I hope you'll enjoy!

….

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Black Cat.

….

**Chapter One:** Milk and Apples

Saya meant everything to him… she was his only friend, the only REAL friend that ever came into his life when he was a Chronos Number.

But she was dead.

He loved her, though he never really admits it.

He didn't like her at first. She was nosy, childish and she would always drink the milk he had bought for the cats … but as they spent time together, he found himself falling in love with her.

"Train?" Creed raised a brow.

Train had been staying at his old enemy's place… He'd run out of money a few days before and had no where else to go.

Creed was okay with it… He in fact, was delighted that Train, who was once his 'object of obsession', would be sleeping under the same roof as him.

"What?" He looked at the silver-haired man who sat at the other side of the table.

Creed smiled. A real smile… not the ones he used to make when he killed someone… back when he was still a cold-blooded murderer.

"Nothing." He said sipping his coffee.

Train stared at him. Creed looked different now. He looked as normal as anyone could possibly get. He's ditched his creepy black coat for a pair of jeans and a plain white, long-sleeved polo shirt. Definitely not a dark overlord look, but he's let his hair grow and now wears it in a low ponytail… just like Charden did when he didn't wear that ridiculous hat.

_Come to think of it… where is Charden anyway?_ Train thought.

It was not only Charden he was worried about… but the whole gang. Especially Sven and Eve.

After all it had been four years since they last saw each other. He knew that he missed his eye-patched partner and the golden-haired 'princess'. Four whole years had past since the epic battle between them and Eden, where he nearly lost his life if not for the man sitting in front of him.

Creed saved his life back then… quite unexpected really… but Train was eternally grateful. But here he was asking Creed to take him in for a few days until he got another job.

"I'm sorry. I promise I'll leave as soon as I get a case." He said watching Creed take another sip of coffee.

He felt embarrassed. The Black Cat, former Number Thirteen, elite assassin, was jobless and a freeloader.

"It's fine. Stay as long as you want… know that you're always welcome in my home, Train." At this Creed smiled again.

Train smiled back. He was still not used to this man being so kind to him. Before, Creed was an obsessed lunatic leading a known terrorist group that almost took over the world. But times seemed to have changed him and made him a better man. Creed has turned into a gentle soul, kind and caring, and in love.

"So… when are you planning to propose?" Train suddenly asked.

Creed almost dropped the mug. "Ah… well… I don't know yet. I still have no idea how I'm going to ask her to marry me."

Echidna and he had been living together. Though, it first came as a shock to Train that the relationship had blossomed into something more than just a hopeless case of Echidna's unrequited love.

"Oh." Train blinked.

Creed Diskenth was actually having trouble with a proposal… not that it isn't a BIG problem. The hours of stressful planning, the nervousness, not to mention the expensive ring… a proposal can turn into a man's worst nightmare… especially when you get turned down.

But thankfully, this wasn't the case. Echidna obviously adores Creed. No doubt about that.

"Why?" he couldn't help but to ask.

Creed raised a brow and tilted his head a little. "Well… for one thing, she might not be ready to actually GET married."

"But she loves you… isn't that enough for her to want to marry you?" Train asked again.

"Marriage is commitment, Train. It takes more than love to make it work out." The man replied, setting his mug down on the table. "Why are you asking me this anyway?"

"Just curious… I just can't imagine what I would look like if I ever decide to marry." Train scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

But really, what would he look like if he does marry? If Saya hadn't died, would he be having problems with his proposal too? Would they live happily ever after just like in the stories that Eve used to read?

Creed gave him a puzzled look. Then he smiled.

Yes, Train would definitely fall in love with someone sooner or later, maybe even when he least expects it… Creed experienced the exact same thing.

Echidna was the best thing that had ever happened to him, and he thanked the gods over and over for bringing someone as special as her into his life.

"Well, I think you'd look charming in a tuxedo, Train. Ahh… I can see it now... You in that aisle with your gorgeous bride…"

Train laughed.

It was too early to think of him getting married. Heck, he hasn't even found the right person yet!

And if what Creed said about marriage being a commitment was in fact true, then he wasn't ready at all.

He still wanted to be the stray cat he's always been... Just wandering off to wherever the wind would take him and not worrying about anything besides what he would eat the next day or what kind of people he would have to catch when he got a job… that was his kind of lifestyle.

"I don't think I'll ever be ready for that kind of life… you on the other hand might do better at it."

….

The 'princess', he once called her.

Eve missed hearing his voice. He was the brother that she never had. Though they bickered a lot, competed with each other, even tried to kill each other when she and Train first met, the times she spent with him and Sven were the best in her life.

"Has there been any news?' She asked Sven who was busy yelling at the stupid cab that they almost crashed into.

"I haven't heard any news about Train, if that's what you're asking." The man with the eye patch answered stepping on the gas pedal.

They had traveled together for a while. Doing some sweeper business occasionally and earning money for Eve's tuition.

Sven decided not to look for Train anymore. Saying, 'he'll come back sooner or later…'

But it _has_ been 'sooner or later' and Train has yet to be spotted by Rinslet or by any of their other sweeper friends.

Eve fingered her golden hair. She decided to keep it short after the battle with Eden as it got in the way at times... and she wanted to look different from Tearju… her 'mother'.

She writes to Eve often and sends interesting postcards from the countries she's been to.

Recently,Tearju's been to Genova, and Eve couldn't help but laugh at the postcard that had a picture of a ballet troupe of men, wearing tutus and tiaras as they stood on their toes, hands up in the air.

"I was hoping we'd have some clues to where he is by now… and…"

"… Eve…"

"… I still haven't said thanks to him."

Sven parked the car in front of the park. He let out a sigh and looked at the golden-haired princess that sat miserably on the passenger seat.

"Maybe… he still has a few things to do."

"What things? He's not an Eraser anymore isn't he? What other business does he have aside from being a sweeper? Do you think he's after Creed again? That can't be right." She started again.

Sven called it the 'Traintrum'. The occasional questioning of Train's whereabouts and occupations often drove him nuts. It wasn't like Eve to be so… so… annoying. But he thought it to be good at times, saying that Eve's just going through puberty.

"I don't know." He said half-irritated. "He's just… out there. Probably eating deep-fried bread crusts again."

Eve looked at him, brows furrowed and with a serious look on her face. She was serious about finding him again. She didn't know why she tried so hard. But it was probably because of the fact that Train is part of the family… the family that Eve treasured most in the world.

Sven sighed. "Eve, I know how you must feel about it. But Train chose to go out and see the bigger part of the world alone. You just can't force him to come back with us when he still has a whole lot of things that he wants to see."

"He could've traveled with us." She insisted, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

At this, Sven decided not to answer anymore as it might bring about more questions… why did Train leave? He couldn't help but think. He could've stayed with them. Weren't they good enough traveling companions for him that he would rather journey alone?

"We should find him, Sven." Eve said after a long silence.

Sven looked at her. Something in her eyes moved him, and although tracking down Number Thirteen was the last thing he had on his mind, he couldn't say no to her. Not to Eve.

Was he ever this weak to little girls? Sven looked at her again. _No, she isn't a little girl anymore._

Eve's already a teenager... she could handle herself now.

She was popular among boys at her school and received at least two confessions in a month. She'd reject them, though. But they would be stubborn and would try again and again until Sven would step in and tell them off for being too damn persistent.

Sven shook his head, but finally gave in

"I won't promise you anything, Eve, but I'll-…" Something caught his eye.

There was a man with long silver hair on the other side of the street, buying apples from a fruit stand. With him was another man, clad in a black leather jacket and was drinking milk from a bottle.

No it can't be.

He was pretty sure he was seeing some very familiar faces, but he couldn't imagine those two people actually together. After all that's happened… really, could it be that simple to put the past behind them?

And they were out buying apples! APPLES! For Christ's sake!

But as rolled down the car window and leaned to take a closer look, he became sure of what he was seeing. Those golden eyes, that spiky brown hair and the bottle of milk in his hand… Even someone like Sven who could only see from one eye could tell it was him.

"Train?"

….

**Author-person: **Wow. This is the first time I've ever posted a multi-chapter fanfic.

I'm nervous… haha.

Anyways I hope you liked it! Read and review, people!


	2. Changes

**Chapter Two:** Changes

….

"Aww, Creed c'mon! One last bottle… this one's already empty!" Train pleaded as Creed paid for the fruits. 

The female vendor giggled at the two charming young men as they quarreled childishly about whether or not they should buy another bottle of milk. They'd been going at it for a few minutes now and they'd somehow gotten the attention of a few passersby. 

The man in black begged too cutely for the man with silver hair to possibly ignore... His golden eyes sparkled as he pouted and meowed like a poor kitty. 

_Resist. Must resist._

But as the silver-haired man looked at his companion, he found the cuteness too much to bear. He cursed at the fact that he still had that weakness for Train and wished that he hadn't brought the guy with him. 

Creed slapped a hand on his forehead and bought three bottles from another stand just beside the one they were buying fruits from. 

"Thanks!" 

Creed rolled his eyes and chuckled as he watched his friend chug down the milk.

There were times when he wished that they had been this close before.

He wished that they had met at normal circumstances and were just normal people, living ordinary lives just like the ones they were living right now… He wished that he had met Train at a grocery store instead, and not at Chronos where they had to kill, or otherwise, be killed. 

He wished he hadn't killed all those people… and Saya.

Saya who'd been the one girl that managed to save Train from the darkness… 

Saya who'd made Train smile, laugh and care for other people…

Saya who Train loved the most… 

There were a lot of things that Creed wished for. But he couldn't turn back time and make all those wishes come true… so he had to settle for what was happening now. And although what he was wishing for would've made his life a lot happier, would've made _Train's_ life a lot happier, he couldn't deny the fact that the past four years have been the best of his life… Because in those four unforgettable years, he lived as a free man, he found the love of his life, and gained real friends… 

"Now THAT hit the spot!" Train finished and wiped his mouth clean with his sleeve. 

"Well then, let's go." 

They had started to walk when they heard suddenly heard a familiar voice. 

"TRAIN!" 

The two men quickly turned around to see who it was that was screaming his lungs out from the other side of the road. 

A man in a white suit and a girl with golden hair were running towards them. 

"Train, it- really-is-you!" The man in white was panting when he held onto Train's shoulder for support. He huffed and tried to talk between breaths.

Train stared for a while. But when he finally registered what was happening in his head, he laughed and gave the man in white a smack at the back of the head. 

"Sven, what the hell are you doing here?" The Black Cat smiled and helped his friend stand up properly. 

"I could ask you the same question…" Sven straightened himself up. "It's been years, man! How've you been doing/' 

"Fine. I've been doing some sweeper business. You?"

"Basically the same… Oh, and…" Sven gestured to the girl behind him. 

"Eve... She's studying now." 

Train looked at the teenager that was blushing furiously behind Sven. _Wow. She's grown up._

"I see the princess's grown a few inches!" He reached over to her and ruffled her hair. 

Eve was annoyed by the way he treated her like a kid… But her heart went up the roof when she saw him up close. _He's changed. _

Well, considering that Train had to live on bread crusts and milk most of the time and that he would get a work out whenever he would chase come wanted guy all around town, you would expect him to get at least a little bit- what's the word?- _hunkier_ than he used to be… but Eve didn't expect that.

He was lean, but not thin, muscular but not bulky… Argh. And his face… Why did God suddenly decide to make him better-looking? He was already cute before!

_What word did the girls in school use about guys that looked like this?... Hot?_

Eve went redder. 

What was that feeling she had in her chest right now? Why was her heart banging against her rib cage? And why the hell did her face feel like it was burning? 

She raised her head a little and looked at him awkwardly… Why was she getting all shy? Sure they hadn't met for a few years, but they were close… she didn't need to be so awkward with him. 

Train was still Train and yet she felt like he was a different person. He hadn't changed at all in the way he moved, the way he talked or the way he acted…Was it all in her imagination? 

"Princess?" 

Train bent down. His face was only a few inches from hers… and Eve couldn't help but think he was going to kiss her.

"Ahh!" She smacked him in the face so hard that he stumbled over. 

"What the hell was that for?" He said, rubbing his nose.

"For being such an idiot!" 

The Black Cat stood up and narrowed his eyes. 

_What's wrong with her?_ He thought. He stared at her for a while and then looked at Sven who just shrugged. 

Train's eyebrow twitched when a realization hit him. _Is this what they call puberty?_

Creed watched the odd group of people before him. Then, glanced at Train who seemed to be in deep thought. _I bet he's thinking its puberty. _He sweat-dropped and shook his head in disbelief. Yes, that was definitely what he was thinking. But when did Train Heartnet become so simple-minded? Still, Creed felt amused. The weird bunch entertained him and made him enjoy the fact that he wasn't enemies with them anymore.

"Er… So would you two like to join us for lunch?" He said as he beamed at them. Eve and Sven took a few steps back. 

_Whoah… major character change…_

"Oh yeah. That was rude of me… sorry Creed." Train bowed apologetically at his friend.

"Guys, you remember Creed Diskenth? Apostle of the Stars? The lunatic who chased me around and tried to kill us?" 

Creed rubbed his temples. _What a fine way to introduce me to your friends, Train._

The two nodded, but kept their distance. "Yes, of course. How could we forget?" Sven laughed nervously.

"Aww… You guys don't have to be afraid of him. He's harmless!" 

Creed rubbed his temples again. He wasn't going to attack them or anything… but Creed wouldn't describe himself as harmless. He was still quite adept with the sword, though probably a bit rusty because he didn't practice anymore. But seriously, HARMLESS! He wasn't the dog crap that Train stepped on earlier!

"Anyway… lunch?" He said through gritted teeth. Yet, he was still smiling. And a rather creepy smile at that.

"We'd be honored, Mr. Diskenth."

"Oh please… Creed is fine."

"Creed! Yes, of course! We'd be honored Mr. Creed!" 

"Ookay… Creed, meet Sven Volfied and Eve… I just remembered… you guys haven't had a proper introduction yet, have you? When we would bump into each other, it was always the fighting first, then the screaming and then we'd all be so absorbed in the action that you never had a chance to know their names, did you Creed?" Train beamed. Creed slapped a hand on his forehead again and groaned.

"Oh yes. I was to busy laughing maniacally and ordering my minions that I forgot to go and ask these good people their names! Thank you for reminding me, Train." Creed adored the Black Cat, but there was a limit to the amount of patience that he had.

"Anytime, buddy!" Train patted his irritated companion's back. 

_God, kill me now… No wait! I take that back!_

Eve grinned. She hadn't seen this side of Creed before. He was always in 'crazed maniac' mode whenever she saw him. Now, he acted like a normal human being that reacted like he was supposed to. It suited him, but she wasn't quite used to seeing his relaxed features and his smiling face. Usually, his eyes would look like they were going to pop out of his head. 

She walked up to him and extended her hand… to everyone's surprise. "Pleased to meet you, sir." 

The silver-haired man stared at the girl in shock. Then he gave her a small smile and held her hand. "The pleasure's all mine." 

….

**Author-person:** Yay! I finished the second chapter! throws confetti in the air

Creed's been nice so far… I'll keep him like that… haha…

And Eve… she's starting to develop a crush… but she still doesn't know what she really feels for the Black Cat… oooh…

… The third chapter… hmm… still thinking some things over before I post it. 

So until then, read and review please! 


	3. Under the Moonlight

**Chapter Three: **Under the Moonlight

….

**Author-person:** I have not done my homework, so I don't know how old Train and Eve really are. But in this story, Eve is sixteen… Train is probably twenty-two. Anyone out there who's willing to tell me their real ages, please help me out. 

….

**Eve's POV:**

We'd spent almost the whole day in Creed's house, just talking and joking around. 

It was fun.

Sven hadn't realized how much time had past since he was so caught up in his conversations with Train and Creed and even Echidna.

I was surprised at how these people got along so well considering the fact that they were almost at each other's throats back then. I expected them to be… a little more awkward with each other. Well, they were at first… but when I came back from the kitchen to help Echidna with the tea, I found the three men in the living room laughing their heads off because of some stupid joke they'd read from a magazine. 

Then, as if they'd known each other for years, Sven and Creed started a conversation. They told stories about their travels and commented about how stupid and ignorant a certain Black Cat was… It was funny watching three grown men chasing each other around the house. 

It was already getting dark when Sven decided it was time to go back to the inn we were staying at.

"You should spend the night here. We have a few more extra rooms." Echidna insisted, saying that it was already too late for us to be on the road.

"Thank you, but I think we've caused too much trouble already, Echidna. With lunch and dinner… and other things." Sven looked over his shoulder and sweat-dropped as he saw Train and Creed cleaning up the vase they'd broken earlier. 

Echidna took me by the hand and grinned "It's been a while since we've had any guests… And besides, I think Train will be thrilled if you stay." 

Sven gave it some thought. But being the gentleman that he claimed to be, he couldn't refuse a lady's offer twice. 

"Well, if it's not too much trouble… I guess we could spend the night." He finally said.

….

I was already in the pajamas that Echidna lent me when I noticed that Train was no where to be found. 

Where was he? 

It wasn't new. You know, him running off to only God knows where. But really, he could at least tell someone before he left. 

I walked around the house while I looked for him. Maybe he was just inside and I'd somehow managed to not notice him… Nah, he was hard to miss. He was a loud person… it was hard to imagine him being silent in one corner, especially with a mouth as big as his. And he had that bell around his neck too. I would hear it if he was around… 

After a few minutes of unsuccessful searching, I asked Creed if he saw that damn Cat leave the house. He shook his head and told me "He's probably up on the roof .There's a ladder in the back you could use." 

I thanked him and went out through the back door. 

It was cold that night. 

I cursed through chattering teeth as I proceeded to find the ladder. Why was I even out here? If Train was really on the roof, I needn't worry about him. 

Then, I realized something.

When I finally found what I was looking for, I set it up against the wall and went back in the house to get a couple of blankets.

Train must be cold up there. It was freezing outside, and knowing him, he's probably too lazy to come all the way down from up the roof just to get blankets. I needed to be the thoughtful one and give the big baby everything he needed. 

When I'd gotten the blankets, I slung them over my shoulder and proceeded to climb up 

He was there. 

Train lay on the roof with his hands at the back of his head. He stared at the moon that shone above us. 

The moon. 

Tsuki… 

Minatsuki…

Saya…

He was probably thinking about her. I'd heard about her once or twice and he said that she was his best friend… but I refused to believe such an obvious lie. I felt that she was something more to him. Something much more. 

I was a child back then and I admit, I didn't understand much about these kinds of things…anything that had to do with love.

But now that I've grown up, I can understand how much it must have hurt Train to have her die in front of him like that. He must have loved her so much that it might have been too much for him to handle.

My chest hurt at that sudden thought. Was I…jealous? 

I walked over to him slowly. He seemed to not notice me until I called out to him. 

"Train?"

He was surprised. He sat up and smiled a little as he motioned for me to come nearer. 

I sat next to him and threw the blanket over is shoulders. "Here."

"Thanks." Train said.

He wasn't smiling anymore. He just looked up to the moon again as if waiting for it to crash down.

I had a blanket over my shoulders too and I hugged my knees closer as I stared at him. 

It wasn't the first time I'd noticed, but Train was worthy of being called eye-candy. It wasn't the right time to admire the way he looked… but I couldn't help it.

I admired the way his golden eyes glowed so brilliantly in contrast to his unusually pale face. He looked so….er… what's the word… _dreamy?_ Ugh. I am never going to get the hang of this girly talk. 

He seemed to notice that I had my jaw hanging open. 

"What?" he said with the innocence of a meek lamb. 

"Nothing." I looked away, blushing furiously. I hoped that it was too dark for him to see the red in my cheeks. 

Okay, I admit. I'm not going to deny that I _may_ have a slight crush on him. Okay, I was really crushing on him. But I want to emphasize that I admired him for his looks and that my feelings for him are no where near the feelings I had for Sven. Another thing, feelings I _had _for Sven. Though it was kind of indirect, I was shot down by the guy. 

I moved on. 

And though it hurt like hell at first; I had to be strong… I had to understand that I was too young for him. 

"Why are you crying?" 

I hadn't felt it, but tears started streaking down my cheeks. I wiped them carelessly with my sleeve. They still kept streaming down. 

Why did I have to remember that? And of all the times I could've cried my eyes out why did I have to do it now?

"Eve?"

"It's nothing. Don't mind me. I'll be fine… just give me a minute." 

I turned away from him. I wasn't going to cry anymore… I promised myself that. The feelings I felt for Sven was just out of gratitude… for taking me in and treating me like family. I was just stupid to confuse those feelings with love. 

I was stupid. So stupid…

As I continued to stifle my cries, I felt Train's arms around me. 

He held me close and I felt the strongest urge to break away from him, but he wouldn't let me. 

"I know it's not much… but I want you to know that I'll always be here, Eve. We're like family." He said in my ear. 

His voice was so soothing, so reassuring… that I realized that I wanted to stay in his arms for as long as I could, but he turned me around by the shoulders and looked at me in the eyes. His face was as close to mine as they had been earlier… and his eyes… I wanted so much to drown in them. 

He smiled at me and put a hand on top of my head. "But I guess… it's okay to cry. For now at least."

I stared at him for a while. When did Train become this thoughtful? When did he suddenly become this caring and this gentle towards me? Has he changed this much in four years… or was I just too obsessed with Sven that I didn't notice this side of him? 

I felt hot tears on my cheeks again. Damn this damnable teenage angst… I wished I was the ignorant kid I was back then. Then, maybe everything that had been happening would've been a little less heavy on me. I hated being the emotional wreck that I was. Ever since Sven, it's been so tough for me. I had to open my eyes and learn that not everything terrible in my life ended with that battle with Eden…

And just when I had supposedly moved on, stupid Train comes into my life to make things harder for me than it already is. 

I sobbed into his chest, not daring to look up at what kind of reaction he had. Not daring to see if he was looking disgustedly at the sniveling girl that was getting his shirt wet with tears. Not daring to see if he looked at me as the pitifully weak little girl that I was. 

How did things turn out this way? 

How did an attempted conversation between two friends end up being the second most embarrassing day of my life?

I didn't know how to answer all of the questions that were ringing in my head. 

But I did know one thing.

That under these black velvet heavens… and under this moonlight…

… I realized that I didn't have a crush on Train Heartnet…

I was in love with him. 

….

**Author-person:** Being a teenager is hard isn't it? It's fun… but hard… sigh… 

I intentionally changed Eve's character… she's a teenager now, so I made her go through normal teenage problems… getting her heart broken and getting confused with her own feelings… you could say I put a little bit of myself into Eve… though, I never bawled into anyone's chest… I normally turn to my dog that's always been there to lend an affectionate paw… 

I hope you liked this chapter..! Please, please, please review… I'm begging on my knees… I really need encouragement here… 

Oh, and sorry if things happen a little too fast. I'm still new to the whole multi-chapter thing. 


	4. Babysitting

**Chapter Four: **Baby-Sitting

...

**Author-person:** Sorry if this took a while. I kinda had trouble with it… And I fear that it is, yet again, too fast…

Special thanks to GodsmackedHalfbreed for giving me some advice… and to Youaresotroublesome for helping me with Train and Eve's ages… I decided to use their ages in the anime' since it matches with the ones I gave them… haha. I actually guessed right!

Hmm… I'm sorry if this isn't good. I was a bit distracted since I was watching Hana Kimi live action… no, not the Taiwanese version... I'd never watch Taiwanese… but the Japanese version's pretty darn good.

...

He was acting as if nothing had happened last night… as if he didn't know why Eve had been staring at him like some freakin' fangirl all morning.

Well, nothing _did_ happen.

All Train did was have her in his arms and say all those nice things to her…things that she never thought that he was actually capable of saying.

So why?

Why did she suddenly assume that she was in love with him?

After all, it may be just another mistake. The same thing happened with Sven and it could happen with Train too. Simple acts of kindness shouldn't have made her fall for him so easily. It was immature. It was childish. It was… not Eve. Because it would take more than a hug and some nice words to make her swoon and blush and go crazy over some guy who acts like a cat and drinks milk almost every chance he gets.

Train sat on the sofa, twirling Hades around like some toy. He would look over his shoulder from time to time to see what the princess was doing over at the table in the dining room. _Reading a book? That is so Eve. _He shrugged and continued to play with his gun.

But unbeknownst to him, Eve was actually looking over at his direction whenever _he _wasn't busy looking at her. _This is so not me. _She flipped the pages of her book and pretended to read when he glanced at her… and when she was caught gawking at him, she would stick her tongue out and continue with her 'reading'.

Eve closed 'Potty-training for Dummies' and sighed. She propped her elbows up the table and continued to look at the back of his head. Train's head. She sighed again.

He wore his earphones, listening to a song by some no-name band on his iPod. He would move his head to the beat from time to time and then he'd sing a bit of the lyrics as he tapped his foot to the music… _God, he looks so cool. _

Eve felt her face grow hot again. She was thankful that the three adults were not around to see her going red. They would definitely guess what was going on.

Sven asked if the two would accompany him to the nearest sweeper headquarters to see if the reward money had been transferred to his account._ Pfft, yeah right. _

In reality, it was Creed who asked him to do that because he had somehow thought of a plan to finally propose…

"_Why does Sven have to be the one to go with you? Why not Train?" _

"_I just… can't take the risk of messing up." Creed said scratching his head. "Sorry Eve… but could you keep this a secret from the kitty and baby-sit for a while?" _

_**EVE'S INNER MIND THEATER:**_

"_Eve, I'm home!" Train walks in, taking his office coat off and loosening his tie._

"_Welcome home! How was your day?" Eve walks out of the kitchen in a frilly pink apron. She walks up to him and slips into his arms…_

"_Okay I guess… Sephiria gave me a truckload of paperwork. But seeing you here, I feel completely revived." He says dreamily, smiling as he lifts her chin up… he leans to her closer…_

_And closer… and closer… and closer…_

"_Eve?"_

"_Yes! I'll baby-sit the little kitty. So you just go along and do whatever you need to do." _

"_Okay…er… thanks… I guess." _

"Since when did I get so starry-eyed?" She muttered under her breath.

Eve continued to watch Train silently. He twirled his black, ornamented gun around like the master that he was and pointed it at the TV as he made a soft 'bang' sound when he pulled the trigger. No, it didn't have bullets, thank God. Echidna was smart enough to hide them somewhere Train wouldn't find…

He saw Eve staring at him through the reflection on the TV. _Princess must be bored. _

Train looked over to her and took off the earphones. "I meant to ask this to Sven… but… when exactly are you guys going to leave?"

Eve sat up properly, startled by the sudden question.

"What? Is there a problem with us being here?" She replied haughtily.

The Black Cat shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He knew that she was annoyed.

They hadn't been together for a while, and here he was asking when they would get the hell out of Creed's house. You would expect Train to enjoy the fact that his old friends stayed for a while just to be with him… but noooo… he seemed to WANT them to leave.

But Eve DIDN'T want to leave… more like, she refused to leave… at least not until Train would come with them. But of course, that was something she kept to herself.

"No… it's not like that. I was just asking… you don't have to be all mad about it." He said putting Hades back in its holster. He avoided Eve's eyes that seemed to glower at him.

"I'm not mad."

"Then why do you look like you want to eat me alive?"

"I do not!"

"Then why are shouting?"

"Because!"

He raised an inquisitive eyebrow at her and she felt her face getting warm.

Train smirked.

It was unusual to see Eve all worked up about something so trivial… and he found it amusing. As far as Train could remember, the princess had always been the quiet, eccentric bookworm that didn't seem to care too much whenever he tried to annoy her. She responded to challenges and would talk back a bit… but she never yelled or lost her temper.

"And what are you smiling about?!" Eve snapped at him, but the Black Cat just leaned back on the sofa and laughed.

_Meanwhile…._

"Echidna, get that purse from him before he wriggles out!" Sven said through gritted teeth as he and Creed pinned the thief to the ground.

Echidna ran towards them hurriedly. She tried to pry the small purple purse from the man's tight fingers, and after a few curse words from the thief, he finally let go.

"Open it and see if he took anything from inside." Creed said, holding the man's head down.

Echidna did as she was told. She found a few bills, lipstick, a compact, lint… and a little white box. She tilted her head to the side, wondering why the box was in an old lady's purse. She held it up for the two men to see.

"A ring, maybe? This was probably what the thief was after… Wait, why are you--?"

Sven and Creed let the man go and helped him stand up. He gave Echidna a toothy grin while she stood there, still shocked.

Creed walked towards her nervously, swallowing the lump in his throat as he took the box from her and bent down on one knee. "Echidna Paras…" He opened it to reveal a beautiful diamond engagement ring.

The small crowd that had gathered to see what was happening burst into applause as a blushing Creed took his beloved by the hand.

It took a while before Echidna finally registered what was happening in her head. She was wide-eyed and had her mouth hanging open when she looked down on the silver-haired man that kneeled before her.

"… will you marry me?"

"Well at least I know that you're fine…" Train chuckled.

"What?"

"You're not sniveling anymore aren't you?" He said.

Eve blushed some more. She remembered last night… She cried into his chest and almost stayed there for half an hour before finally managing to put herself back together.

And then, like a slap at the back of the head, Eve realized something… she didn't remember going down from the roof and crawling into her bed. Which means…

"How did I get in my room last night?"

"I carried you to your bed… How else? You fell asleep right after you stopped crying." He answered as he turned to face her.

"Oh." _He carried me? _

"Are you sick? You look like you'd eaten Kyoko's chili flavored chocolates."

"No… I just… it feels stuffy in here… it must be at least eighty degrees." She said. She was going redder and redder by the minute.

"It's not that hot… are you sure?"

"Yes, of course I'm sure!" Eve's voice sounded unexpectedly shrill.

"Okay, okay… calm down."

She sat back and slapped herself in the forehead. Did she really fall asleep in his arms? The mere thought of it made her stomach queasy. It was embarrassing. What did Train think of her now? Crying and then wondering off to Dreamland just like that… she acted like a baby.

Train tilted his head. Eve was slamming her face on the table… was that normal? "You should stop that… it'll hurt like hell later."

"So?" She said in a muffled voice. Eve was face down, groaning and mumbling some words Train couldn't make out.

She saw herself being carried by Train, asleep and oblivious of everything that was going on around her. She imagined the way he could've cradled her in his arms and how he must've been gentle and careful not to wake her up. _Now I actually wish that I was just PRETENDING to be asleep. _

Eve groaned some more before finally sitting properly… only to find Train's face, yet again, a tad too close for her comfort.

Eve blinked as he felt her forehead. "It looks like you don't have a fever after all."

"I already told you, I'm not sick!" She said shoving his hand away. Why did he have to do that? It was getting annoying… and yet, Eve wanted him to stay that way at least for a few more seconds.

"Just making sure. I wouldn't want Sven getting mad and saying I didn't take care of you properly while he was gone." Train said putting a hand to his hip.

"He's only been gone for a couple of hours. What could happen?"

The door suddenly burst open and three ridiculously happy faces greeted the startled pair.

Creed got hold of Eve and squeezed her as tight as he could. "Cough…need air… cough."

Train sweat-dropped and turned to the other two for some kind of explanation. The last time he saw Creed like this, the man had won a life-time supply of Mars Bars. Echidna flushed and showed him the engagement ring that shone brilliantly on her finger.

"A lot could happen, apparently."

**Author-person: **I am not contented with this chapter…

Oh, and I borrowed the idea of the INNER MIND THEATER from Ouran High School Host Club… hehe.

**To GodsmackedHalfbreed:** I AM SO SORRY… waaah… I did not get descriptive at all… Please don't hate me… I'll try again in the later chapters. So I hope you'll still continue reviewing…

_sits at one corner to sulk… _

**To everyone else: **Please, please, please review…


	5. The Bishounen

**Chapter Five: **The Bishounen

...

**Author-person: **I'll try to make this my last 'going too fast' chapter...

I read the fourth chapter again… and I just had to bang my head on the wall. Sorry… it had a lot of errors… I'll proofread my works next time but I think it'll be useless since I'd probably overlook the mistakes anyway…

**To GodsmackedHalfbreed:** haha. thanks again...

...

It had been about a month since then… and school started off to be one hell of a drag…

Eve looked out of the classroom window, shutting out the teacher's droning voice that had been talking on and on about the ever so glorious limpet that spends all its time clinging to rocks and timber…

The weather was magnificent. A clear sunny day, with sharply etched white clouds in the sky. It was so perfectly blue… she wondered if it was even ever that blue before…

And she wondered if _he_ was looking at it too.

Train was the type of guy who could lie around and do absolutely nothing all day. But then again, he might actually be catching some thief somewhere and was too busy to watch, as her teacher would call them, visible masses of water or ice particles in the atmosphere from which rain and other forms of precipitation fall… but in Eve's dictionary they were called clouds… just clouds.

Under the table, Eve swung one leg over the other. She tapped her pen noisily on the table, and started doodling, what seemed to be a very weird looking cat that was holding a badly misshapen boomerang. It was a gun actually… but people wouldn't know the difference. They wouldn't know who she was trying to draw anyway… because her drawing was a cat… and cats had zero resemblance to humans…

She hated to admit it, but she missed Train. Terribly. And her having fallen in love with him didn't make it any easier for her either.

Why did he have to be so goddamn stubborn? Why did he have to insist on staying behind? Why didn't Creed and Echidna try to force him to leave? (Ahh… they were probably busy being too frisky…) And why didn't Sven shove him in the trunk while he had the chance? Eve could still remember that mischievous glint in his eyes when he waved goodbye. It got her so annoyed that she wanted to put a fist through his face… Did it mean something? Or was it just some way to annoy her even more?

The bell rang for lunch and the students leapt from their seats. Eve stayed behind and continued to achieve the ultimate goal… trying to make her doodle look a little less like a meat bun and more like a kitty…

"Eve, you alright?" Matsumoto Rika said in a concerned voice.

Eve had been acting weird since the first day of school and she wondered if something happened during summer vacation. The princess told her she went on a trip with Sven. The usual. But maybe something different happened during the trip. Maybe she met a boy? Or maybe not… Eve was the last person she could think of who would brood over some guy…

"What?"

"Forget it. Lunch?" The cheery brunette held up a large bento, her hazel eyes seemed to sparkle with enthusiasm… or was she just eager to eat lunch?

Eve nodded and spun her armchair around to face Rika's before taking out her own lunch box.

"What're you having?"

"Omelet."

"Again?"

Another silent nod.

Rika raised an eyebrow and looked at the egg dish before heaving a sigh. "Hand it over."

"Eh?"

But before Eve could protest, she had already switched her chicken curry for Eve's stale omelet.

"Rika,"

"You should eat something else. Eating the same thing every single day is bad for your health, you know."

Eve grinned and mouthed a 'thank you'. She liked it whenever Rika would act like this. It felt as if she were Eve's older sister… Sure she acts bossy sometimes and she can be too headstrong for her own good, but these were the qualities Eve loved most about her.

"Oh, you should lay off the veggies… mom overcooks them most of the time and they can taste a little awful."

The princess let out a giggle.

_At least she's laughing now. _Rika smiled and swallowed a mouthful of Eve's omelet. It looked a little burnt, but it wasn't half bad.

They talked about random things... About what they'd do over the weekend, about the new transferees who still hadn't managed to get along with anyone else and about Mr. Masamune's boring lectures that could probably put an ant to sleep…

Rika and Eve were halfway through when someone came up to them…

"And how is my princess faring today?"

The voice startled them. But both of them already knew who it belonged to.

_Oh no. _Eve turned her head towards the direction of the voice.

A boy stood only a few feet away from the two girls. He had his hand to his heart and bowed slightly. "I assume that you're doing quite well, yes? And I see you're eating… er… commoner food?"

"Curry, Aizawa. It's called CURRY." Rika glared at him and he acted as if she was just the wind.

Aizawa Makoto, student council president, a boy that girls would actually swoon for, a perfect example of the classic 'bishounen'… But in Eve's mind, an absolute jerk and narcissist who feeds off of girls' hearts to satisfy his own egotistical needs.

Eve forced a smile as Makoto took her hand and kissed it. _Go die in a hole._

Hordes of fangirls crowded the outside of the classroom. They watched, looking green-eyed as Makoto tried to impress Eve with his pretty-boy charms. He ran his fingers through his jet black hair and beamed at his princess… to most, he was a dreamboat… to Eve, he was a wimpy version of Jenos who looked as if he went to the beauty salon at least twice a week… Okay, so maybe he was good-looking… handsome even. And he knew that in an offhand sort of way. But he was a ball of lint when compared to the hunk-of-a-man that was Train Heartnet… well, to Eve at least.

Train again… Why did he seem so perfect to Eve now?

"Ahh… Makoto… I'm sorry but I have to… finish my business with this delicious chicken curry." Eve wanted to sound cute, but she saw the way Rika winced at her overly high-pitched voice.

"No, you mustn't apologize, princess. It was my fault. How rude of me to deprive you of your curry. Ah, but we will see each other again later… and I will be glad to escort you to your home."

_Like I said, go die in a hole. _

Eve watched Makoto step out of the room, his fangirls followed suit and glared daggers at her while she smiled innocently and continued to eat.

"He's annoying… and he should go die in a hole." Rika said, drooping her eyelids a little.

Eve snorted with laughter and almost sprayed curry sauce everywhere.

**Author-person: **Train's not in this chapter… aww… but it talks mostly about him… so… what's the difference?

Hmm… two of my OCs popped out of nowhere… Matsumoto Rika, Eve's friend and Aizawa Makoto, the annoying, narcissistic bastard that likes the golden-haired princess….

… I hope you liked this chapter!!

Please review!


	6. Biker versus Bishie

**Chapter Six: **Biker versus Bishie

...

**Author-person:** I'll try to take things a little slower from now on… take note: I'll TRY…

Er… anyways… I hope you guys like this chap. I had a little fun with it.

...

He sat on his bike in front of the school gates, almost hesitant to enter the campus.

It looked like one of those average Japanese high schools, the kind you'd normally see in your typical Japanese anime'… and you'd never guess that it was a private institution if not for the unusually vast grounds and the ridiculously large fountain in the middle. It seemed to be a typical rich kid's paradise… like a free-range ranch for all the spoiled little brats of the world. Grass covered most of the grounds and it had a wide cement path that led to the school building. There were a few concrete benches here and there, an awful lot of shrubbery along the path and an array of multi-colored flowers in great profusions near the building's entrance.

He drummed his fingers on his motorcycle's leather seat as he searched for any sign of her.

The biker heaved a sigh and extracted a small sheet of paper from his pocket. It read, Kayashima High School… _This is the place... but where the hell is she? _He saw some of the students roaming around, mostly girls that seemed to giggle as they passed by the gates. They wore navy blue double-breasted suits and had plain white blouses underneath, a grey necktie and grey plaid skirts that were about an inch above the knees… Yep, it _was_ the right school. There was no way he could be wrong about the uniform.

The stranger in the black leather jacket brought around a few turned heads. But he seemed oblivious of the fact that he had caught a considerable amount of attention… The few boys that happened to pass by drooled over sleek black bike, while the girls drooled over the dreamy outsider that was getting off of his motorcycle… His brown wind-blown hair suited his somewhat cool and standoffish personality (if he ever really _was_ aloof), and his brilliant golden eyes set him apart from all the other boys that had the usual dull grey or brown or green or blue… or whatever mundane color they'd already seen a bajillion times before…

He seemed to notice, for the first time, the people that stared at him from a distance. The man in black was surprised at first, but then he flashed them the 'cutest little smile' they'd ever seen. The kind of smile that should probably be illegal because it made a bevy of love-sick girls faint on the spot.

"Eve!!" Rika's all too familiar voice could be heard from a mile away… And so, the princess made it a point to not make her friend a little too excited

Eve woke up form her daydreaming and turned her attention to Rika who stood panting by the doorway. "What?"

"Cute…guy…gates…motorcycle…" She huffed.

Rika was not the type of girl who would take the liberty of going up the third floor just to tell someone about some cute guy. She was too darn lazy to do that. And so, Eve was overly curious to find out who made Rika, The Laziest Bum in the World, run all the way from the school grounds and up the gigantinormous building.

"Oh yeah? What did he look like?" Eve raised an eyebrow and pushed her golden hair behind one ear.

The brunette held up one hand and stood up properly before finally answering.

"He had a black motorcycle. You know… the ones you'd normally see on TV… not the big bulky ones. He had that cool leather jacket, brown hair a pair of gorgeous honey-colored eyes. You should've been there! He was a total dream boat!" Rika sighed dramatically and leaned against the doorframe.

_You have got to be kidding me…_

Eve's eyes opened wide. No way… No freakin' way!

"And?"

"He was waiting for someone. He's still there. You could go—"

Too late. Eve had already sped out of the room. Down the spiraling staircase, down the long, straight halls… Eve ran like the wind. She bumped a few people, probably stepped on some… but she didn't care. It was him! Really HIM!! And she was going crazy over the fact that he was probably waiting for her! At the gates! On a motorcycle! There was a whizzing sound in Eve's head as she ran and ran. She reached the outside, down the steps and through the path. She could see him.

Train took a second look before realizing that it was Eve who was running like a lunatic down that path. He waved at her as she came closer.

"Princess!!"

"Train! What are you doing here?!" She said, trying to hide the smile that was tugging at the corner of her lips.

"Surprised? I thought you would be. Sven was shocked when I came knocking at your door… but," He whistled gesturing over at the campus. "When he said you were at school, I never thought you'd be studying here."

"A few people are helping with the tuition fees. But pretty soon, I might be able to get a scholarship." When she said 'a few people', Train almost saw what looked like Jenos and Rins in the background.

"Oh. Well, it makes sense. You're pretty smart!" He said grinning broadly.

Eve flushed and twiddled her fingers… _So he thinks I'm smart?_ She felt her entire body tingle appreciatively.

She was happy. Unbelievably happy. So happy that she could throw her arms around his neck if it weren't for the people who were staring at them.

Just this morning, she was wishing for him to show up gift-wrapped on her front porch, and now here he was! Only, he wasn't gift-wrapped, but the motorcycle could compensate for that. He was wearing that same leather jacket that he had worn a month ago, but it didn't have those stupid doughnut-shaped weights anymore. Eve was thankful for that. And the bike! Where'd he get it? She was pretty sure it was Train's because it had a silver number '13' sticker stuck on its side…

There were suddenly whispers and murmurs from behind her. The students who'd been watching them were abuzz. And, yet again, a group of girls glared daggers at Eve as Train put an arm around her shoulders.

"Any friends you'd like to introduce, princess?" He beamed again.

"Er…well… Rika! This is Train Heartnet, he's a… a friend. And Train, this is Matsumoto Rika… also… a friend." She pulled a panting Rika towards them.

The girl had just arrived, surprised that the handsome stranger was a friend of Eve's. She smiled goofily at Train who held his hand out for her to shake.

"Nice to meet you."

She just smiled at him, pushing her long brown hair behind one ear. Then she glanced at Eve who stood beside him, blushing like crazy. How did she come to know this dreamboat? Seriously, Eve could've told her about him… Or did she want this guy, Train, all for herself? Rika wouldn't blame her. She would've kept him locked in a cupboard if she knew that he would make hormonally-charged girls drool all over him.

"Sven's waiting… We should be on our way home." He said, checking his wristwatch. It was a bit fast four…

"Yeah."

"Oh, Rika… want a ride home with us?"

"N-No thanks. My mom's going to pick me up." Rika said surprised by the sudden offer.

"Don't be stupid, Train. The bike's only for two people."

"Right." He said, as if realizing it for the first time.

Eve 'ehem-ed' and started to pull Train towards the motorcycle. She'd already noticed that the crowd was growing bigger and she didn't want to attract any more unwanted attention. Gossip about the 'princess' being brought home by an unknown stranger would probably spread like wildfire… Eve would have a hell of a difficult time dodging all of the questions that Rika would ask her the next day, and she couldn't imagine what kind of torture the other girls of the school would have her go through.

"Princess, why the rush? Wave goodbye to your friends at least!" Train super-deformed and waved his stubby hands at the confused students of Kayashima High School.

"Stop right there!" A familiar voice called out.

Eve slapped herself on the forehead, regretting that she hadn't dragged Train to the bike sooner.

The familiar black hair and smoky grey eyes… but a not-so-familiar frown greeted her as she turned to face the bane of her school-life.

Aizawa Makoto had his arms crossed in front of his chest. He eyed Train from head to toe, almost glaring when he looked up at the Black Cat's innocent face. Train was a few good inches taller than him… a bit older and bit more muscular, but Makoto knew that he was probably smarter than this dim-witted loser… at least he hoped he was.

"Only I can call the princess, 'princess'!" He said, flipping his bangs dramatically. Another group of his fangirls swooned.

Train raised an eyebrow and hooked his thumbs casually in the pockets of his black jeans. _Who is this girly-faced pansy? _

"I've always called Eve 'princess'… I gave her the nickname." There was a hint of pride in Train's voice that made the nickname sound like it was the discovery of the century.

Makoto narrowed his eyes. He wasn't about to let this leather clad stranger take his princess away from him… let alone give her a ride home. He'd promised Eve that HE was the one to escort her home his limousine! How could she pick a ride in some motorcycle over a ride in a limo? But Makoto didn't blame his princess… This guy… 'Train'… probably did something to make her go with him. Like… bribe her with all the ramen noodles she could eat, or threatened to blow her head away with that gun he had.

"Oh, really? Are you entirely sure about that? Well then, if you insist on calling Eve 'princess' then…" He grabbed Eve by the hand and pulled her to him, letting her fall into his arms.

"…I should be called 'prince', ne?" He winked and another legion of girls swooned. Others screamed their lungs out…

Train was getting sick of this guy's cocky attitude. And he had no right! Absolutely no right to do that to the princess! He wasn't going to let him… 'twirl' her around like some toy. And besides, Train had known Eve since forever. It's not like he was some stalker that Mr. I'm-So-Perfect had to get all overprotective. In fact, pretty-boy seemed more like the stalker… judging from Eve's annoyed expression and the way she practically wanted to hit him with a mallet. And don't even start with the nickname! 'Princess' was Train's invention! His brainchild! How could this… this windbag be any less creative?"

"Makoto, I'm sorry but I REALLY have to go home." Eve started to say. She wanted to sound as though she was begging, but the words came out as Train wanted them to sound. Annoyed. Makoto didn't notice and he just beamed at her, almost blinding Eve with a set of pearly white teeth.

"But in the motorcycle? Princess…"

Train winced. He'd already developed a profound sense of loathing for Makoto, the Pretty-boy Bastard.

"Train's really good with the motorcycle. I'll be fine. Absolutely safe."

Makoto touched her cheek. And Eve's skin crawled when he lifted her chin up to his face.

_Oh don't you dare…_

"Hold it, lover-boy. Let's not get too friendly." Train tore them apart, almost making Makoto stumble onto the ground.

The boy flipped his bangs again, glowering at the fiend who'd ruined his 'romantic' moment with Eve. He humphed and turned his attention to her once more.

"We'll see each other again tomorrow, my princess… and hopefully there will be no more disturbances…" He gave her a small bow, gave Train another glare and marched off with his fangirls trailing behind him.

"So, how're Creed and Echidna?" Eve said, trying to disrupt the awkward silence.

They'd been riding for at least twenty minutes and hadn't talked since they got on the bike. She was clutching onto Train nervously, not quite sure if she really was safe on a motorcycle... she hadn't ridden on one after all. But Eve preferred taking the risk of having her face dragged along the asphalt rather than spending time with Makoto in is luxurious limo. And besides, she was enjoying the ride, even though she yelped or screamed whenever Train would suddenly rev up the engine…When she wasn't squeezing her eyelids shut every time Train made a sharp turn, Eve would be busy admiring the view. They had just passed the ocean. Eve watched the water lap against the shore and liked the salty sea smell that was caught up in her nostrils…

"Fine, I guess. I left a day after you did… I didn't want to ruin the atmosphere."

Eve suddenly saw a vision of Creed thanking Train for the first selfless act he'd done in a long time.

"Oh. So… are they really getting married?"

"Maybe. In a few months or so."

Then they went quiet again. The silence was a new to them. And it took a while before Eve could think of another thing to talk about…

"Are you sure it's alright for me to be wearing this? Aren't _you_ supposed to be wearing it?" She said, pointing on the black helmet that she had on her head.

"Do you really think that a guy who's faced Chronos _and _The Apostles of the Stars would die from a hit in the head?"

Eve saw him smirk in the mirror.

"I'm just… well… worried." She flushed, her grip tightening slightly around his chest.

Train glanced over his shoulder and turned to the road again. She heard him chuckle.

"Er… anyway," She started, trying to keep herself from blushing again.

"Thanks for earlier. That jerk, Makoto can really get on my nerves."

"Oh? So you were annoyed? I thought you enjoyed the flirting." The Black Cat said bitterly. Eve suddenly got irritated by the comment. She met his eyes in the mirror, but she was surprised to see that the smirk wasn't there anymore. Was he… mad?

"How could you say that? I did not enjoy the flirting!" She shouted at his ear.

"Well, you didn't pound him with your mallet didn't you?" His voice seemed to grow louder, and Eve slipped back a bit.

He was shouting at her. REALLY shouting at her.

Train felt a pang of guilt in the pit of his stomach. He shouldn't have said that. Eve didn't flirt… she was only being polite.

"Sorry…"

"It's okay." Eve smiled half-heartedly.

"I was… I dunno… annoyed? You didn't say anything against what he was doing."

"Even if I did, he wouldn't hear me… He'd be too busy drowning in self-admiration."

They shared a laugh.

"Sorry again."

Eve nodded and she looked at him again on the mirror… and she was sure that she'd seen the faintest hint of pink in his cheeks.

"Train?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you're back."

**Author-person: **Yay! Haha… I'm done with the sixth chap… whooo!!

Please review!


	7. Broken Hearts

**Chapter Seven:** Broken Hearts

...

**Author-person: **This chapter is pretty short… Well, I didn't want it to be long anyway… i gave Eve a little challenge... don't kill me okay?

I was pretty sad when I reread this chap… but I dunno… I'm pretty shallow so… maybe it's just me…

And Saya's song… I just read subtitles… sorry if it makes no sense…

...

_Let's listen to the song of the world…_

_How far should we go, while we look at the sky?_

_A baby's first cry…_

_The insects flutter and buzz…_

_Putting the thoughts into it…. _

**Train's POV:**

The moon was shining bright.

That night, I had spent hours just staring up at it. There was always some sort of peace, and closeness and comfort when I came up to the roof. A kind of comfort that I didn't find anywhere else except in the darkness that surrounded me and in the single white orb that hung in the sky.

The night was beautiful. The stars were scattered across the black horizons… It reminded me so much of that night. That night when he first met her.

I didn't know her name back then. To me she was just the weird girl in the yukata. The one that always drank the cat's milk and the one that always sang that song... She kept saying some pretty weird things. Like how she looked cute in the yukata and how much milk tasted so damn good.

_You and I… we're pretty similar…_

It's because we liked rooftops, she said. I thought it was a stupid reason.

_I don't shoot because I don't want to… _

Because it was the right way, she said. I thought it was stupid… even stupider than the last reason. Because guns are meant for killing.

I hated her at first. Thought she was one of those stupid people that forced others to be their friend…Or maybe 'hate' isn't the right word. More like… I was annoyed… because she poked her nose in other people's business. I chose to try and ignore her. But then, I found myself coming up to the rooftop, waiting for her and getting an extra bottle of milk just in case she came.

She became my first friend… but then she became something more…

Saya.

I closed my eyes as I remembered her. Her smile. Her laugh. Her voice…

Saya was everything I ever needed in my life. And I realized that she was the only person that I would give my whole heart to...

But she died because of me.

Even though I'd originally put the blame on Creed, it was entirely my fault. Because of my carelessness, Saya had to pay the price. Because I hadn't thought things through before I decided to leave Chronos. Because I was stupid enough to have myself followed and found out…

If I'd been a little more careful, maybe she'd still be here with me, drinking milk and watching the moon… Then she'd sing that song, and I'd listen to her… I loved that song. I loved Saya's voice. And I loved her. Though I'd been stubborn and refused to admit it, I did.

"Saya, I loved you…"

I looked up at the moon and let at least one... one teardrop trickle down my cheek. I closed my eyes and felt the cold night breeze against my face…

"And even now, I still do."

"_That can't be right."_

My eyes snapped open. I turned around and found that familiar face. That face that I'd been longing to see for so long.

"Saya."

"_Why? Why can't you forget, Train?" _

She had that usual smile. The smile that I'd fallen in love with years ago. And she wore that same white yukata that had pink flowers printed on it. Her short dark hair danced crazily around her face as the wind picked up… and she laughed as she combed it with her fingers.

I stood frozen, gaping at her with my mouth hanging open. She was here. Really here… I wanted to run to her. Hold her in my arms and never let her go. Because I didn't want to lose her. Not again. Not ever. But my legs felt like lead and wouldn't move, while my hands shook terribly and felt as cold as ice.

"Saya." I said again, my voice sounding hoarse, as if I hadn't used it in years. I stared at her incredulously while she walked up to me, laughing.

"_It's been a while". _She said as she came nearer.

I smiled and suddenly put my arms around her. I wanted to do that for so long. I felt my heart banging against my ribcage, as if it was going to burst out any second. Then, I put a hand to her head and felt the silk of her hair. It was Saya. Though I'd never held her like this before, I knew it was her. For the longest time, I just held her. I didn't want to let her go. I wanted to make sure she was real.

But maybe she'd only come to see me… to say hello… or goodbye… I pushed the thoughts at the back of my head. No, I didn't want to think about it anymore. Because, right now, all that mattered to me was that she was here.

Saya pulled back after a while and looked at me with her blue-green eyes… And I noticed, for the first time, how beautiful they were.

"_You haven't answered my question." _

"What does it matter? You're here now aren't you?" I said.

But she just shook her head, the smile gone from her lips.

"_Train, why can't you forget?" _She asked again.

My voice was caught up in my throat. Why was she asking me this? Shouldn't she be happy now?

"Because I can't… and I chose not to."

"_Well, you should. Because you know that I can't be with you."_

I felt my heart sink to my stomach. To my shoes. Saya was staring at me with a disappointed look in her eyes.

"I won't." I was glad that I was still as stubborn as I was before. I was proud that I was Train Heartnet, a man that never gave up.

She shook her head again. I saw a sadness in her eyes that I'd only seen once. When she was about to die.

"_You have other people you care about now, don't you?" _She said gently. _"Sven and…"_

"_Eve, right?"_

My eyes widened in surprise. She knew them. But she couldn't have… unless… unless she wasn't really…

"But you're different, Saya… I…"

"I love you."

"_Why do you have to love me then? Why do you have to keep on loving someone you know you can never be with?"_

The words felt like a hot knife that sliced across my arm. I didn't like it. Didn't like it one bit.

"Shut up." I looked away.

She put a hand on my cheek and I met her eyes again. She was crying.

"_Why can't I just be the weird girl in the yukata?" _

"Because you're so much more, Saya."

And for the first time in so many years…I cried.

Silent tears streamed down my face as I looked at her. All my memories with her that I'd kept in the back of my mind suddenly came flooding back. The fireworks in the sky, the blood on her face… the tears in her eyes…it all came back to me. So vividly. So painfully. I didn't want to remember anymore. I didn't want to remember that night when I'd lost her… When she died in my arms…

I tilted her head upwards and kissed her. I felt the warmth of her lips against mine… She seemed so real to me at that moment… even though I already knew that she was anything but.

"_I'm not. Not anymore,"_ She said when she pulled away from me. _"Because I'm just a memory. A memory that's bound to be forgotten."_

"But I won't forget. I refuse to."

Saya put her hand on my chest and said in a pained voice, _"You have someone else you need to care for, Train. Maybe you won't forget me… But you have to move on. Because it'll do you know good if you keep dwelling in the past." _

"I believe it was you who told me to live as I please. And I've chosen to love you… despite everything." I said to her, holding her hand.

"_I did. But I also told you to live freely. And right now, you're caged. Still chained by your memories of me." _

She untangled our fingers and took a step back. _"Let yourself go… Because you'll hurt yourself more if you keep going on like this…" _

Saya was suddenly fading. She still had that wistful smile on her face and I found myself smiling back at her. Not stopping her. Not yelling or screaming or begging her to stay. I just stood there, watching her disappear in front of me, as she sung that song…

_Let's listen to the song of the world…_

_How far should we go, while we look at the sky?_

_A baby's first cry…_

_The insects flutter and buzz…_

_Putting the thoughts into it…. _

"Saya…"

"Saya…"

The cat-shaped plastic clock chimed ten times. Ten o'clock. And Train slept on his bed soundly.

Eve watched him from the doorway, a few blankets in hand. She stared at him, then she smiled and then she suddenly felt hot tears pouring down her face. She heard him say her name. Saya's name. And Eve felt that her heart had shattered into a million pieces.

So he hadn't stopped loving Saya then…

The princess retreated to her bedroom, leaving the blankets on one side of Train's bed. She shut the door and cried silently into her pillow. Eve knew that she had no chance…

Because even in his sleep… Saya is all that Train ever thinks about…

**Author-person: **I was biting a pillow while writing this… I'm sorry that I couldn't make it longer… I found it kind of hard to keep a conversation between two people on a rooftop, without much to do except look in each others eyes, going…

Will Eve have a chance? You'll just have to find out…

Please review this…er… sad, sad chapter… Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go cry in a corner… being the shallow little girl that I am…


	8. The Head That Shall Never Be Washed

**Chapter Eight: **The Head That Shall Never Be Washed

….

**Author-person: **Okay… sorry this update took a while… I was busy reading manga… Vampire Knight is sooo cool… It practically… OVERFLOWS with bishie goodness… _drools_

Oh,and I'm starting to get addicted to Cardcaptor Sakura again… Ugh. I am such a girl… Can't help it if I'm in love with Syaoran, Touya, Yue and Eriol… They're mine!! _Laughs like a lunatic and stuffs bishies into bowling ball bag. _

**To Li'l Lawliet:** Er... no... I don't have a problem with that... just... saying... hehe... _nervous laughter_

**To entity.unknown:** yep. that's my goal... haha...

Ehem. Anyways, I now present to you the eighth chapter of "Of Princesses and Black Cats"!

And about the chapter's title… heehee… you'll see…

….

"Oh. Morning, Train."

"Hn."

Train plopped over to the nearest chair in the dining table and rested his chin on his folded arms. He barely got any sleep last night.

Saya felt so real in his dream, like she was almost alive. He closed his eyes and tried to remember what she looked like. The dark hair, the yukata… She was the same… except she cried more than she smiled. And then she told him that he should forget her… That he should move on and that he had someone else to care for… To Train, that was probably the stupidest thing she'd ever said to him. Because he couldn't forget about Saya. He was too stubborn to even try.

Train felt a familiar pain stab his heart… A pain that he'd been trying to repress for so long...

Then he remembered having kissed her. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and felt his cheeks getting warm. It was his FIRST kiss. So it wasn't with a real girl… but hey, it was with dream-girl Saya. It was waaaaaay better than having to kiss a certain Tao master…

Meanwhile, Sven was busy making breakfast.

He glanced over at the Black Cat who was slumped over the table and seemed to be napping. Napping… this early in the morning? And after he had just woken up? Sven just shook his head and flipped a pancake. Train was _the_ Laziest Bum in the World… Rika was probably just second after all… Still, he was pretty used to his partner. And Sven was happy that he had decided to stay with them again.

He smiled a secret smile and went on with his cooking.

The tantalizing aroma of pancakes made the Train drool. He was awfully hungry. Probably twice as hungry as normal because he (surprisingly) decided to skip dinner last night…

"Pancakes?" He said, opening one eye. He saw Sven nod and closed it again.

"I was hoping for bacon and eggs…"

"Well, it's either pancakes or you could go through the trash like other cats do." The man in the apron slammed a tower of thin fried cakes on the table.

Train immediately sat up and started eating... scratch that, swallowing his breakfast. Gulping down what seemed to be three cakes at a time. Sven was more disgusted than impressed.

"So you haven't changed." The eye-patch wearing sweeper chuckled as he made his way to the stove again.

"Second batch?"

"Not for you."

"Hmph."

Train continued wolfing down his breakfast. Sure Sven had put rather… disturbing little smiles on the pancakes using what seemed like maple syrup (Train could tell it wasn't) but they were really good. Then he remembered the days when they'd be in a restaurant, flat broke. They'd run into the same waitress… what'shername? And she would give them bread crusts to eat… Train suddenly felt a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Milk." He said, feeling his throat getting dry. It wasn't a request. It was an order.

Sven looked over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow. "What am I? Your maid? Get it yourself."

"Fine."

Train stomped over to the fridge, mumbling something like, 'Well, the frilly pink apron makes you look like one.'… He yanked the refrigerator door open and searched for the milk. To his surprise, the fridge wasn't as empty as he thought. Sven must've been doing some serious sweeper business while he was away.

His partner had gotten a good house, sent Eve to one of the best private institutions in the country, and bought a Siberian Husky (much to Train's dismay) that was probably outside chasing the mailman.

Sven's certainly worked his ass off. He should be proud of what he's accomplished in four short years.

Train smiled. And thankfully, the view of him grinning at a bunch of vegetables was obscured by the door… he could only imagine what his partner would say if he saw him with like that.

He was unscrewing the cap and was about to lift the carton to his lips when…

"Holy Sh-! Would it hurt to put on some pants?!" Sven covered his good eye as if he'd been blinded by a sudden camera flash.

Train blinked, and then looked down at what he was wearing. A plain black shirt and dark blue boxer shorts that weren't really _that _short… It had cute little cat patterns all over.

He wasn't walking stark-naked around the house wasn't he? What was the big deal?

"What? I'm wearing shorts! They're not even short shorts!"

"We have a sixteen year old teenage GIRL, living with us! Could you at least have the decency to put on some pants?" Sven yelled as he waved s spatula at Train threateningly.

He wasn't about to let Eve walk in the kitchen and see a man in shorts rummaging through the fridge. It would scar her for life! At least that's what his overprotective fatherly instincts told him... Okay, his OVERLY overprotective fatherly instincts. Or as Train decided to call it, Sven's O.O.F.I… That sounded just about right. Sven's Oofi kicked in. Has a nice ring to it.

"Sven, I'm wearing SHORTS. I'm not exactly dancing the Macarena naked on the table." Train rolled his eyes and proceeded to drink the milk.

"Use a cup, dammit!"

"Ow!" A mug landed on Train's head and seconds later, there was already a semi-huge bump. He flung the mug back at Sven who was hit right in the face.

The Black Cat returned to his seat at the table and poured himself a glass of milk, watching Sven bend over in pain.

"Aww, c'mon… widdle Sven has a boo-boo?"

"Shaddup!"

The princess entered the room half-smiling. "What's with all the noise?"

Eve saw Train eating breakfast and she felt a loud thumping in her chest again. She tried to ignore it, but failed miserably when he looked at her, smiling innocently as he wiped his milk mustache off. He was still unaware of what she felt about him. And Eve thanked the gods that Train was somehow blessed with an incredibly short attention span.

And then, she remembered last night… and her red rimmed eyes showed that she'd cried for hours.

She heard Train say Saya's name in his sleep. Her name again. Why did Eve have to be the one to hear that? It could've been Sven who was standing by the doorway and not her… Why did she have to be the one to bring Train's blankets to his room? Why did she have to insist on seeing him before she went off to bed?

"Morning, princess!"

"Morning." She yawned.

Train looked at her curiously. "What? Didn't get any sleep?"

"Er… sort of… I have exams today and I had to study all night… You?" She lied.

"Nah. Woke up at about two… then I was just lying in bed. Nightmares."

"Oh." Eve took the seat next to him. _Nightmares huh? _She tugged on her necktie Her coat was still unbuttoned.

"What of?" Sven called out from the kitchen.

"Cats. Big white ones that don't open their eyes. You bought one apparently. And then Fenris tore its head off." He lied too.

"Oh? You think our dog would do that? He likes you a lot, you know." Sven laughed.

"I would've liked him too if he didn't try to lick my face off." Train replied, recalling how the dog went mad with joy at the sight of him and started slobbering all over his face the moment it managed pin him to the ground.

"And where did you get his name? It sounds… weird." Train asked Eve.

"Norse Mythology. I just read the book and… Fenris is supposed to be the wolf of some god named Loki." She said, not really interested with the dog at that moment .

"Well, it suits him. But it's still a weird name."

Eve looked at the man beside her miserably… She didn't like the way he lied about his dream… It was Saya he dreamt about… not the Fenris.

Train said he didn't get any sleep. He said he just lay in bed. Did he spend the entire time thinking about Saya?

Eve felt her chest hurt… She was experiencing it all over again. It was the same feeling as before... when Sven had rejected her. Eve wanted to bang her head on the table just like she did back at Creed's. She hated the feeling of not being wanted by the person she cared about most. And even though it made her happy that Train was back, a part of her felt like she didn't want him around anymore… Because she kept getting hurt and she knew that he'd probably never love her as much as she loved him.

"Here, Eve." Sven gave her some pancakes. He raised an eyebrow when he saw her shake her head and turn her hand into a knife. Eve started slicing the cakes into bite-sized pieces almost absent-mindedly.

"No thanks. I'll have something at school…" She said quietly.

It wasn't like Eve to not eat breakfast. She would eat whatever Sven cooked for her even when she was already running late. There was definitely something wrong… And Sven was just itching to find out.

"Okay, I'll go get your bento ready."

Eve nodded and Sven retreated to the kitchen.

She glanced at Train again and noticed that he was only wearing his shorts. She blushed and looked away. Automatically, she reached for her tie and started redoing it. She'd do anything… absolutely anything just to keep herself from looking at him again. Not because of the shorts… but because the mere sight of him made her feel as if she wanted to tear her heart out.

Eve continued fixing her tie. She'd redone it about three times already…

"Princess, I think the last one was better."

"Eh?"

"The second knot was better. This one's pretty loose." He reached over to her and started fixing the tie himself.

"T-Train!" She suddenly turned into a brighter shade of red.

"I know how to do this, Eve. I used to tie Sephiria's." He said, laughing a little. He recalled how Number One would always curse under her breath for not being able to fix her tie properly.

Train helped her out once and she almost melted in embarrassment. 'Don't wear it if you can't even put it on properly.' He said to her.

"There." He said smiling.

"Th-Thanks." Eve almost toppled her chair as she stood up and ran upstairs to get her school bag. She slapped herself several times in the hallway. _Get a grip. Get a grip. He fixed your neck tie… that's all. _

And Train was left alone again. He sat quietly in the dining room and just shrugged. _Probably embarrassed… Just like Sephiria was._ He chuckled to himself and finished his milk.

After a few minutes of pacing round and round her bedroom, Eve finally grabbed her bag and went down, almost flying to the front door, and still red as a tomato.

She was crazy over him… TOTALLY crazy over him. But he didn't feel the same for her. And she hated it that every time they would see each other… EVERY SINGLE TIME… Train made her fall in love with him even more. The little acts of 'kindness', like saying nice things to her when she was depressed, picking her up from school, and now, fixing her tie… he was just… just too darn nice. And the fact that he was incredibly cute didn't help her at all… She loved everything about him now. Like the way his hair was all tousled and that he'd still managed to pull the look off. The way he laughed and the way he talked about silly little things… The way his golden eyes would sometimes look at her with such smoldering intensity that she felt like her skin would melt off.

But despite how much she liked him, how much she adored him, Eve wanted to tell herself that it was hopeless… that Train's heart was Saya's. Only Saya's. And that he'd never even consider liking a little girl like her.

She felt like there was stinging at the back of her eyes and she wanted to leave before her emotions got the best of her again. Because she refused to break down and look pitiful in everyone's eyes… Eve was getting sick and tired of crying. She never did before. And she suddenly wished that she was back to her normal self. Emotionless and didn't give a damn about the anything else.

"Princess!" Eve had already opened the door when he called to her.

She held her breath for a moment and relaxed her tensed shoulders before turning around to face him.

"You forgot your bento." He said holding out the lunchbox. His hair was still messed up, he was still wearing those silly shorts, and yet, he looked so perfect.

Eve took it from him with trembling hands and smiled gratefully.

"Thanks." She said with a croaky voice that didn't seem like her own.

She'd just begun to turn around when Train put a hand to the back of her neck and kissed the top of her head. He smiled at her so sweetly. Like what he just did really meant something.

"Wha-?" She blushed more furiously than she ever did before as she stared at him incredulously. "You-I-you…"

Eve felt her heart swelling inside her. No, it felt like it exploded from her chest and that it was rolling on the floor. Train… KISSED her. On the head. On Eve's head! She felt like screaming her lungs out like Makoto's hopeless fangirls did.

"Good luck in your exams." His eyes were so gentle and sincere as he patted her on the shoulder. And then he returned to the dining room, shouting to Sven that he had just given Eve her lunchbox, completely oblivious of the fact that he'd made Eve feel like she'd won the million-dollar lottery.

For what seemed like a full fifteen minutes, the princess did not move from that spot.

_I am never going to wash this head ever again. _

…

**Author-person: **What do you think? Haha. I had fun while writing this…

Please review people!!

_Jumps with glee _

Oh. And Eve about not washing her head…? Nah. She'll have to. Eventually.


	9. Pissed Off Princess & Furry New Friend

**Chapter Nine: **Pissed Off Princess & Furry New Friend

….

**Author-person:** Alright… double chapter update! Nyahahahahaha…

**To GodsmackedHalfbreed: **I looked it up in some books and in the internet… it's either Fenrir, Fenris or… ?Fenrisulfr?… (The last one was just plain weird)… Since I've already started using Fenris, is it okay if I continue using it? Tell me if it's alright with you or not and I'll edit the chapters… Oh, and thanks again, as always, for the awesome reviews…

**To Everyone That's Reviewed and/or Will Review: **Thanks so much for all the support… I didn't think this fanfic would reach as much as five chapters at first… and here I am posting the ninth chap. Your encouragements, comments and compliments are very much appreciated!! I hope that you continue reading this fanfic till the end… Thanks again!

….

Eve still hadn't regained complete composure when she entered her classroom. She walked silently past her classmates who were busy talking about the festival that was coming up, the new AV room, and all the assignments they hadn't done. It was all too trivial to her and she managed to shut their voices out as she made her way to the comforts of her armchair.

Eve quickly found her seat in the back row, nearest to the window. She sat down and after heaving a long sigh, decided to look outside. The birds were calling to each other in the early morning and the sun was stretching its golden fingers in the sky. The leaves on the nearby trees rustled softly with the gentle wind as she sat, admiring the picture of tranquility for a brief moment… before letting reality slap her hard in the face.

Train didn't love her, but Eve grew to love him even more with each passing moment.

She sighed again, wondering what he was doing back at home. Was he giving Sven a hard time with his childish antics? Was he having trouble dealing with the dog? But then again, he might be out doing a bit of sweeping. He did talk about a job he'd gotten the night before and he seemed pretty excited about it.

Eve smiled to herself, remembering the times when they were out catching bad guys. She missed those days. Those days when they'd compete with each other and get riled up whenever either of them teased or called each other names. But she also reminded herself that those days were done. She was an adult now, and she wanted to act like one. Unlike Train who was still childish and innocent and clueless about certain things. Important things that everyone should know about. Like how to respect others' privacy and how to behave well in front of people. He was pretty much the same as he was back then. Loud-mouthed and funny and not afraid to speak his mind. And that's what she loved about him.

Rika was quick to notice the rare smile on her friend's lips.

"So… how was your morning? Did Mr. Heartnet bring you breakfast in bed?" She mouthed excitedly.

Eve lifted her eyebrows, trying to hide the fact that something _did_ happen that morning. Then she groaned the moment her friend started laughing hysterically. She couldn't hide the pink in her cheeks. Not from Rika at least.

The princess was face down on her desk. She couldn't forget what he'd done that morning. It was a sweet… if Train were a brother or friend… but Eve didn't just see him as that. He was something more. He was probably the most important person to her now. And although she'd just realized how much she really liked him a month ago, her feelings for him were even stronger than what she had for Sven.

"Okay. Fine, I won't ask about this morning…" Rika finally said, seeing that Eve was not in the mood to talk about it. "Just tell me why you kept him a secret from me…"

"Because you never asked and because you wouldn't know who he was anyway." Eve mumbled.

Rika raised an eyebrow. "Well… yeah… but. He was…"

_A dreamboat. Hot. Dreamy. Cute. Worship-worthy._

"Gorgeous!"

_That too. _She smiled to herself again. She knew that already and she didn't need other people telling her how good-looking Train was. How undeniably handsome he'd become over the last four years.

"I know, I know." For a moment Eve said the words proudly but then she stared at Rika with a horrid expression on her face Like she was having a seizure or something.

Rika stood silent for a second. Then suddenly, there was a mad glint in her hazel eyes.

"You like him." She said with a maniacal grin on her face.

Eve groaned and covered her ears. _Dammit._

"You really, really like him."

"Oh, shut up"

"But you do. Don't you? I wouldn't be surprised. He was a bit immature yesterday, but I suppose it adds to his charm doesn't it?"

"…"

"You are so into him."

"Ugh."

Now Rika knew. And there wasn't anything Eve could do about it.

"Aww c'mon. It's not like he's got bucked teeth for you to get all embarrassed about liking him." Rika said quickly as Eve was about to whack her head on the desk.

"But he doesn't like me. At least not as much I like him." She mumbled and felt her stomach squirm as she said the words.

There was no hiding it from Rika anymore. Might as well tell her everything.

The brunette suddenly realized the gravity of the situation and how badly it was affecting Eve for her to resort to self-inflicted pain. It was a one-sided thing. A love-sick girl's worst nightmare.

"Well then, you just have to impress him. Show him that you're better than the other girl… if there is one. There is one right?"

Eve nodded. "But how can I? I don't know anything about her… And she's… dead."

Rika bit her lip. It was worse than she thought. Train was still in love with his dead ex-girlfriend… it was going to be tough to try and make him forget her. She must've been wonderful for him to love her like that… probably beautiful and sweet… But it was hard to not like Eve as well. She was remarkably pretty. With her short blonde hair and her deep red eyes… she was easily one of the best-looking girls in school. Guys liked her, but she always turned them down… So they labeled her the Ice Princess... which was a name that Eve actually liked… She was also smart and talented and she had that weird nanotech power that everyone thought was cool…

These reasons are also why a certain Aizawa Makoto had his eyes on her…

"Ahhh… princess. Good Morning to you."

"KYAAAA!!" As always, his fangirls were quick to follow. They came bustling in the classroom, making the usual noises: squeals, screams and the occasional thuds that someone made when they fainted.

A number of girls glared at her and Eve recognized some of them as the ones who were there yesterday when Train had picked her up. It seems as though Makoto's fangirls as well as Train's, joined forces and agreed to rid their oh-so dignified bishies of the golden-haired wench.

Makoto looked around the vicinity. Searching any for any sign of that wretched 'Train Heartnet' close by.

"He isn't here, Aizawa. Outsiders are prohibited to enter the buildi—."

"Princess, how are you today? You're looking quite pale." He said lacing his long, delicate fingers around Eve's.

_Here we go again._

"Fine… I guess." She rolled her eyes at him and he didn't notice.

"Where might your… _friend _be? The one in the motorcycle?"

"I told you--."

"Is he not here?" He cut Rika off again.

Eve glanced over to her friend. Rika was showing a great deal of patience today. Surprisingly, she hadn't shouted at Makoto for being the narcissistic bastard that he was.

"No. He's probably back at home."

"Hmm… quite useless isn't he? He's unemployed?"

Eve felt annoyed by the last statement. Makoto had no right to call Train that. She peeled his fingers off her hands and gave him a crooked smile.

"He's employed."

"Oh? What is he then?" He asked, raising a quizzical brow and looking even more intrigued.

"A sweeper. And by that, I mean a bounty hunter. Like me."

Makoto blinked several times. He didn't know that his princess was a 'sweeper'. As far as he knew, bounty-hunting was a dangerous job and he couldn't picture his lovely Eve chasing some crooks and managing to stay alive after each pursuit. To him, she was as delicate as a porcelain doll. He never would've tolerated her to work like that.

"That kind of job doesn't really suit you, princess..." He said shaking his head and looking at her more seriously.

"Surely Mr. Volfied doesn't let you do anything… unsafe. It would be very irresponsible of--."

"Makoto, I think Sven has done a very good job of raising me and he doesn't need your advice. I'm very capable and I do a damn good job at being a sweeper." Eve finally said with obvious anger in her voice.

She was irritated by the way he treated her like she was weak. Eve was not made for show. She was tough and she knew it. And she hated the way he said Sven was irresponsible because she new that her surrogate father was a very dependable man and he would do anything to keep her out of harm's way.

Makoto winced. He didn't think that his princess would be capable of saying such profanities. He thought she was always polite and good-mannered. A lady that never spoke ill and never shouted or yelled like she just did right. He straightened up and swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat.

"Yes, well… I'm very sorry for my rudeness. I didn't want to… demean you in any way, princess. Nor did I want to insult Mr. Volfied."

Eve nodded. But her eyes showed that she was still angry at him.

Makoto shifted uncomfortably. This is not how he wanted to start off the day. And he couldn't bear the thought of having his princess mad at him for such flimsy reasons. So he called the Heartnet guy useless and he called her surrogate father irresponsible… it wasn't that big of a deal. She could've just shrugged the comments off.

"If you'll excuse me." He bowed hurriedly and stalked off. His fangirls still followed as he went to his own classroom, murmuring and whispering. They didn't look at Eve as they left.

"That…was impressive. Thought he wouldn't shut up." Rika was surprised herself and she patted Eve on the back.

The bell had rung and everybody went back to their seats.

Eve was suddenly proud of herself and she was sure that if Train were there, he would've been proud of her too. She smiled to herself and was tempted to get lost in her thoughts again... In her thoughts of the man that had unkempt hair and brilliant golden eyes that made her life a little confusing… and yet wonderful at the same time.

"Alright everyone! Today we're going to talk about… Theorems and Postulates!"

A loud groan erupted from the whole class, and poor Mr. Townsend could do nothing but give his students a lop-sided grin.

….

Later in the day, Train came home, worn out and seemingly out of breath. He took his jacket off and hung it on the coat hanger before sinking down on the sofa, tossing the keys of his motorcycle and some wanted posters carelessly on the coffee table. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed.

Train chased the robbers all around town for hours… he underestimated them, even giving the six men a ten minute head start before deciding to get on with his job. It was stupid of him and he was lucky to have caught them all in the end. Black Cat rubbed his aching temples and let his head fall back on the couch.

He noticed that Sven and the princess weren't home yet. So the house was his fort to guard now? Great. Just great. He sighed again and rested his tired eyes for a bit. Train was finally alone and he wanted to grab the chance to get a decent nap without having anyone wake him up by shouting at his ear.

There was suddenly a gradual sense of awareness that there was someone else other than him inside the house. Train opened his honey-colored eyes and found a pair of pale blue ones staring right at him from the other side of the living room.

"Oh… it's only you." He mumbled.

Fenris tilted his furry head a bit, wagged his tail and trotted off to the kitchen. Train raised an eyebrow as he heard the fridge's door open, then close after the sound of clinking bottles. The dog came back in the living room seconds later, carrying a milk bottle in his mouth.

"Er… thanks." Train said as he took the milk.

The dog sat in front of him, still wagging its tail, as if expecting something in return. Train eyed Fenris suspiciously, then slapped his forehead and reluctantly reached over to the dog to pat its head.

Fenris barked playfully and licked Train's palms.

"Ew…" But the Black Cat laughed in spite of his slobbery hands and stroked Fenris' furry neck.

"I take back what I said about not liking you. I think we're going to get along just fine, buddy."

….

**Author-person: **Hmm… next chap, I think, is a good one…I hope it is... otherwise... I'll have to rewrite !_gasp!_


	10. Afternoon Naps

**Chapter Ten:** Afternoon Naps

….

"I'm home!"

No reply came.

Eve found it unusual that Sven wasn't home, but there was a sale at the market that day and he might've been out to do some last minute shopping. Typical of Sven. He acted more of a mother than a father most of the time. Always going out to do some shopping even though Eve volunteered to go to the market herself. He also insisted on cooking all the meals by himself and would only let Eve help if she annoyed him too much… And then he always wore that disturbingly cute apron, even though they had another one that was a lot less lacey.

Eve kicked her shoes into a corner. School pretty much wore her out. There were mountains of homework to be done, an insane number of quizzes to take, notes to organize, clubs to attend to… and then there was the constant stalking she'd have to put up with.

Makoto hadn't quite given up on her even though she practically yelled at him that morning. She could tell by the number of love poems signed by _The Prince_ that poured out of her locker, the roses that were in her bag when she came back from her P.E. class, not to mention the troubadour that followed her everywhere during recess and lunch break. It was all so irritating. So she decided to 'forgive' the bishounen when he approached her at the school gates on her way home. It was the only way to stop all the nonsense he's been doing, after all.

Eve passed the dog (who looked quite happy) on her way the living room. She stopped to pat him on the head and then watched quietly as Fenris slipped through the doggy door and disappeared from sight.

"Hi." A hoarse voice suddenly called out.

Eve whirled around in surprise. Train was sitting on the couch, eyes only half-opened. He looked exhausted as he sat there grinning with an unopened milk bottle in his hand.

"Hi. I didn't know you were there." She said blinking.

It felt a little awkward being with him. In the house. Alone. _Gasp_ It wasn't like they weren't left alone before… but Eve still couldn't get over what happened that morning.

"Hn." He answered, setting the bottle on the table.

He leaned against the couch. His eyes were fully closed then and Eve watched him in awe as he sat there looking so peaceful. She then turned her attention to the sheets of paper that were spread across the table. Six mug-shots. Eve kneeled beside the coffee table and looked at each poster. Her eyes widened as she saw the bounty on the criminals heads… they all ranged from five hundred to eight hundred thousand. No wonder Train was tired. He was working his ass off all day… And here was Eve was complaining about a bit of schoolwork… He must've had a hard time catching all six crooks on his own. But then again, this was Train Heartnet… it was hard to imagine him having trouble with a job.

"Hard day huh? You had to catch them on your own?" She asked him as he opened one eye to look at what she was doing.

"Yeah. Pretty hard catching all of them at the same time. They were together in some heist… and I had to run all over town just to keep track of all of them."

_Oh, so that's why. _

"Why didn't you ask for Sven's help?"

"Because I don't want to be a burden. You can't expect me to mooch off of both of you while I'm living here… I need to help out once in a while." He said grinning a little, then closing his eye.

"You're not mooching off of us."

"Hn." He said again.

Eve fell silent as she watched him 'nap'. Did he really feel that way? Did he think really he was useless just like Makoto said? She never thought he was useless. He was always there when they needed him the most. Sure he was a bit lazy, but he always gets the job done. And he made catching crooks seem too easy. But that was no surprise… he was the infamous Black Cat after all.

Eve stood up and sat down on the couch, smiling at the figure that seemed to be sleeping beside her. She watched his quiet breathing and his slightly parted lips… He was a like an angel, sleeping soundly against a non-existent tree stump. Eve gazed at him with silent adoration, wishing that she could tell him what she felt about him. But she couldn't. Not right now at least.

Train felt the other end of the couch sink. He decided to ignore Eve who sat beside him for a while. But then he felt a mild discomfort in the way he was trying to sleep. Sitting. His back ached a little and he wanted to lie down.

Train's face scrunched up in irritation. And as his eyelids fluttered open, he saw Eve staring at his face dreamily. Like a child longing for the teddy bear on the other side of a shop window. He blinked at her for a few seconds, then chuckled.

Eve flushed in embarrasment, then looked away as Train continued to laugh...

"You should sleep in your room, you know. It's a lot comfortable there." She said as she fingered the edges of her skirt.

He'd caught her staring again and he always wondered why she did that. It was a bit unnerving, but Train was always amused by the reactions she had. She looked like the kid that got busted after stealing from the cookie jar. And the way she was almost always red… it was cute, and yet, it worried him because she looked like she was going to get a fever.

But despite the small 'entertainment' he had, Train was still sleepy and he felt his eyelids getting heavier by the second.

"Eve… I need a favor." He said, grinning a little bit.

She looked at him, still pink and nodded.

"Can I borrow your lap?"

"What?" She looked at him incredulously as if he'd asked her to jump off a building.

"Just this once. I'm too tired to go up the to my room. I promise it'll only take a few minutes." He yawned, closing his eyes again.

Eve looked pensive for a moment. Was he serious? He didn't look like he was joking. She bit her lip and shuffled her foot. It would be awkward, but it wouldn't hurt to do him a small favor.

"Okay."

Train sighed gratefully and let his head rest on her lap. And for one brief moment, Eve felt the urge to push him away and send him rolling on the carpeted floor. But she didn't. And she just sat there, marveling at the way he napped so peacefully over her shaking lap. He breathed softly against her skirt, not minding how fidgety Eve was being.

"Train!"

"What?" Came an irritated response. He was enjoying the first few seconds of his nap, and here she was screaming at his ear.

"Well… you…"

"Stop shaking. You're giving me a headache." He mumbled, cracking one eye open.

She blushed and raised her hands in surrender. "Fine."

"Thank you." He said as he shut his eye.

A few minutes of awkwardness… Eve felt uneasy and kept her hand to her sides. But then, gradually, she felt more comfortable with him just lying there.

Almost absentmindedly, she started to stroke his dark hair, careful to avoid depriving him of any more of his much wanted sleep. And for one fleeting moment, she saw his lips curl upwards ever so slightly. _He likes it?_

Eve felt a wave of relief wash over her when she realized that Train was actually enjoying what she was doing. And she was grateful that he wasn't saying anything… it made her feel a little more at ease.

A few moments later, he was sleeping like a log. He looked even more handsome as he lay there on her lap, breathing softly and subtly. Eve's eyes moved down to his loose grey T-shirt that exposed his bare chest as well the number thirteen engraved on his collar bone. She blushed and decided to concentrate on his face. His face that looked so angelic and so peaceful. She wished that she could see his golden eyes too…

Eve felt the silk of his hair through her trembling fingers, wishing that the moment Train shared with her would last forever. She wanted him so much. But she also knew that he might never want her back. Her heart ached as she continued to watch him silently. Eve's feelings welled up inside her, and she knew that she couldn't keep quiet anymore. She wanted to shout it out, to tell him how much she really cared for him… how much she wanted to be with him. She was hopeless. And she was painfully aware of that. But she refused to give up her feelings for him… She'd given up once… and she was not going to do it again.

Eve traced the line down his cheek and chuckled as his brows furrowed and he started mumbling words that made absolutely no sense. When his knitted brows had relaxed, Eve put her hand to his cheek and she felt the warmth of his skin against hers.

It felt so right being with him, and yet, so wrong to love him.

"You know, I've been wanting to say this for a while now…" Eve said quietly, letting silent tears streak down her cheeks.

A few drops fell on Train's face, and she wiped them off gently with her hand.

"I think that… well… I'm in love with you." She said in a barely audible whisper.

Train stirred a bit, maybe even groaned. Eve held her breath, wondering if he had been awake. She frantically tried to wipe the tears off of her face with her sleeve, hoping to God that he didn't hear a word she'd said. Thankfully, he was still deep in his slumber… She heaved a sigh of relief. Eve had her hand to his face again as a crazy idea came into mind. She thought about it for a while and decided to take a shot at it.

_It's now or never._

Bending over, she let a curtain of gold drape around them. Their faces, only inches apart... Eve watched his quiet breathing and his slightly parted lips… Her breath caressed his face gently and her lips brushed the side of his face as she leaned closer.

"I love you…" She said again.

She kissed him gently, throwing all caution to the wind. She didn't care if he suddenly woke up and pushed her way. Didn't care if Sven suddenly walked in on them and fainted on the carpeted living room floor… She twined her fingers in his hair and felt the warmth of his lips... enjoying every second of her first kiss.

Eve pulled away, again relieved that he hadn't woken up. She smiled at him sadly, still knowing that he didn't love her at all and that her first kiss was with a man who was practically dead to the world. She continued stroking his hair, continued to act as if nothing happened... but continued loving him…

Now Eve had a secret to keep only to herself…

But unbeknownst to her, a pair of pale blue eyes were staring at them from the kitchen's doorway.

Fenris came in through the back door…

….

**Author-person:** Kyaaaaaa…..! What do you think??


	11. Secrets of His Own

**Chapter Eleven: **Secrets of His Own

….

**Author-person: **I hate myself for making you guys wait for so long… I had a little writer's block after I posted my VK one-shot… I'M SO SORRY… _cries in a corner_

I still have writer's block… and I wasn't sure if I should really post this. I wasn't quite satisfied with it.

Tell me if I have errors… I was too sleepy to proofread…

…_._

The sky was a dull grey and the sun was hidden behind dark clouds. It spelled rain. But Rika insisted on spending the day with Eve no matter how bad the weather was. 'Come hell or high water' she said. It'd been a while since they last went out after all.

They walked along the long cobbled street and stopped by a pet store. There were brightly colored finches, a few tabbies and noisy puppies in their cages. They listened to a small parakeet that boasted of not having eaten a cracker for the past two days, and laughed their heads off as they jabbed their fingers gently at the noisy bird… well, at least Rika and Train did. Quite childishly to say the least.

"C'mon Eve, check this out!" Rika waved at the quiet, blonde girl that watched them from a few feet away.

Train continued to be amused at the parakeet and kept asking it random questions (Crackers or biscuits?). Typical of the silly Black Cat. He kept laughing as he motioned for Rika to come closer and watch the bird talk back.

Eve smiled and nodded.

She was glad that her friend had brought up the idea of inviting Train to come along, but she didn't expect that she was going to be completely left out of their conversations in just a matter of minutes. Rika and Train were just too similar. Too noisy and excited and full of life… she almost envied them. Eve shook her head at the thought of them making a good couple. That was by far, the most outrageous thing she'd ever thought of, probably second to the idea of kissing the Black Cat… which she had already accomplished a week ago. It had been a miracle that he didn't wake up after all of that… and Eve was thankful that the only witness to her courageous _feat_ was Fenris who knew no more than what a dog should know.

"Princess! Hurry up!" Train looked over his shoulder and continued to walk, his hair slightly ruffled by the passing breeze. He looked so… good.

Eve felt a blush creeping to her cheeks. She still hadn't gotten the hang of controlling the way she always went red. _Damn it. _But luckily, Train seemed oblivious to the ever so small hints of Eve's real feelings for him and he would tend to almost always ignore them. She always thought that he had a knack for sensing these kinds of things, but seeing that he still hadn't found out, Eve began thinking that he was probably as dense as a block of concrete.

When she finally caught up with the two, they were busy commenting about what they were wearing…

"I know ugly when I see it. And that shirt is by far… the ugliest thing I've ever seen." Train shook his head in mock-disgust and pointed at Rika's tight, mustard colored baby-tee. It had 'I HaTe YoU' printed in big bold letters.

"Oh, and that comes from a guy who's always wearing black?"

"What? You've only seen me twice and you accuse me of wearing black all the time?" Train's eyebrow shot up to his hairline.

He plucked at his sweater awkwardly and hooked his thumbs in the pockets of his frayed black jeans. So what if he was wearing black? It wasn't a crime or anything. At least he didn't wear the doughnut thingies anymore. That was kind of an improvement, right?

Eve swore that she saw Rika's cheeks go pink for a second before she walked up to Train and gave him a solid punch on the arm. The princess laughed inwardly. And why wouldn't the brunette blush? He was incredibly adorable, black sweater and all.

"What the hell was that for?!" He yelled, rubbing the part where Rika's fist had made impact.

She stuck out her tongue and pointed at the 'I HaTe YoU' on her shirt. Although, it was really the opposite of what she actually felt about him. She liked him. But only as a friend or maybe as an annoying older brother. Train wasn't exactly her type of guy. Yes, he had the looks, but he was too immature even for someone like her. Too silly and too childish… And he was in his twenties. He was also too old for her.

Besides, the princess liked him. A lot.

"And Eve? Won't you comment about what she's wearing?" Rika asked in a teasing tone.

Train blinked a few times before turning to look at their silent companion.

Eve's shoulders stiffened slightly. How did she get pulled into their wardrobe warfare?

He looked at her pensively, his eyes scanning her from head-to-toe like he had x-ray vision or something. A small smile graced his handsome face, and he looked as though he liked what he was seeing.

"The princess…? You should dress more like her y'know. That way you might get a little bit more attention, Rika." He chuckled while gesturing to Eve who was burning red and wanting desperately to melt on the spot.

The princess looked down at what she was wearing… plain white flip-flops, the pastel pink dress that Sven had given her for her birthday, and a thin silver chain that hung around her neck. This was probably the first time Train had seen her wear something so bright… and so girly?

Eve felt like an idiot for having realized it only now and cursed her surrogate father inwardly for making her wear the dress.

"Oh, shut up." She said in a small, squeaky voice that was so un-Eve.

Train grinned and started to walk. "I'm starving! Let's go and eat already!"

….

The crowd at Alex's ebbed and flowed, crowding the sidewalk for tables. Businessmen freed their necks of ties, musicians played their instruments, and a few mimes started their little acts at the other side of the street. The traffic noises were dimmed by the music, the laughter and the voices… and no one present seemed to notice the worsening weather. The atmosphere reminded Eve so much of her school at lunch breaks; only, this bunch of people was far more interesting than her schoolmates.

The doors of the restaurant were held wide open, letting the tantalizing aroma of mocha and something like freshly baked cannelloni waft down the street. Train's face looked up toward the sky now, and Eve knew that he had let the scent of food get caught up in his nostrils.

A few minutes later, the three of them settled in one of the circular tables outside. They ordered lasagna and iced tea… And Train felt like being a gentleman, so he volunteered to pay for everything…

"No way!" Rika blurted out waving her fork at him.

Black Cat nodded vigorously as he continued to devour his third serving of lasagna. They'd been talking about Eve's love-life (among all things), and Train was thoughtful enough to divulge one of the princess' deepest, darkest secrets.

"Train!!" Eve whined, flushing in embarrassment. She sank deeper into her chair and buried her face in her hands.

"You liked your dad?"

"It was a crush, dammit!" Eve moaned.

Rika leaned her back against the chair and stabbed her lunch over and over. She couldn't believe it. Sven looked like he was in his late thirties or early forties… Eve actually had a thing for older men! The brunette felt like shouting it out to the whole world. But then again, princess was mature for her age and she might just want equally mature men to be with… it wouldn't be odd if you looked at it that way.

"But really… how could you like Sven but not like Train?" The question suddenly popped out of nowhere, like an awful zit on a teenager's face.

Train spat out his lasagna and Eve only sank deeper into her chair. She felt her face getting hotter as the Black Cat threw a nervous glance at her and shrugged. _Was he… blushing?_

"Well… Train was… er…"

_He was still in love with Saya. _She wanted to say.

She looked at Train who had stopped eating. He seemed like he was pondering on something and Eve felt like he was affected greatly by the question, judging from the obvious look of annoyance he had on his face.

"I had a girlfriend then." He answered, suddenly growing serious and pushing his plate of lasagna away.

Eve's eyes went as round as saucers. She felt as though she was slapped in the face. Girlfriend? What ever happened to BESTFRIEND? Her mouth hung open as she gawked at him in bewilderment. Was this Saya that he was talking about or was it a different person? He never mentioned anyone becoming his girlfriend…

Rika saw something like a flash of panic in Eve's eyes.

"You did?"

"Yeah."

She wasn't as shocked as her friend. After all, Eve did mention that there was another girl. And Rika had come to the assumption that Saya really was his 'partner'.

"What happened to her?"

"She died." He said flatly, as if stating the obvious.

"I'm sorry."

There was suddenly an awkward silence in the air… and if not for the clatter of plates and the scraping sound of chairs, Eve would probably have drifted off to another world again. She felt her heart squeeze. She actually felt her hands trembling on her lap as she watched the man she loved from across the table. Eve saw something in his eyes… the same thing she saw when he was up on the roof of Creed's house. The wound that he'd been trying to heal for so long stung like it'd been reopened… and the princess could see that almost too clearly. The way his mood changed and the way he couldn't look at the two girls in the eyes practically gave his feelings away.

They understood.

He wanted to leave.

He wanted to be alone.

Eve stared down at her shaking hands. She was a fool to think that she could replace Saya in his heart… and she was more of a fool to think that a single kiss would make him want her with the same intensity as she wanted him. Her chest got so tight that it was getting unbelievably hard to breathe. Her stomach squirmed and she felt something like jealousy and hate and sadness rising and pumping at her insides. It was too much. She was close to breaking down. No, she was already breaking down… Blood seemed to pound in her ears and she was already crying.

On a weird impulse, Eve stood up; toppling the iron chair she sat in…

And she ran.

"Eve!"

"Princess!"

It started to pour then, but Eve ignored, if not, was completely unaware that she was getting drenched. Her head was bowed against the pelting rain as she sprinted through the streets. She fell down once but she quickly stood up before anyone could help her. She didn't want to get near anyone. The jealousy and the anger and the sadness gripped her heart and she could feel the pain as if it was rising up to her throat.

Eve found a secluded area. An alleyway. It was far from the restaurant, and she hoped that they wouldn't find her there. She wanted to be alone. Wanted to cry in a corner. She sat against the cold brick wall and put her face to her knees, her hands gripping her hair. There was a clap of thunder, followed immediately by forked lightning. But she couldn't hear it. She couldn't hear anything anymore… Her hand and knee still stung from the fall, but she chose to ignore the warm blood that trickled down the length of her arm.

A thousand thoughts came into her head as Eve sat there, completely soaked and crying like a child. What would she tell Train when she got back? What would she tell Rika at school? What lie would she have to come up with to make them believe that nothing was wrong? She didn't know anymore. All she knew was that she was an idiot and that she looked absolutely pathetic by running away like that. It was cowardly. It was weak. It was stupid. And Eve grew to hate herself even more.

"E-Eve?"

Eve looked up and saw a pair of golden eyes staring down at her.

Train stood in front of her, panting, and icy breath coming out from his mouth. He was numb with cold, wetter than he had ever been in his entire life, but he was relieved that he had finally found her.

The princess stared at him for a while, not sure of what she was going to say to him.

"Train, I--."

"You don't have to explain anything." He said hoarsely, stooping down in front of her.

He took a handkerchief from his pocket and wrapped it around Eve's bleeding hand. She was shaking terribly, and she looked as though she was going to faint. Train tried to smile at her, but she only looked away, ashamed of herself. He put his hand to her cheek and gazed into her tear-stained eyes. And before both of them knew it, he had her in his arms again, just like before. But this time, Eve didn't try to pull away. She stayed there for what seemed like an eternity, feeling his trembling hands on her back and his heaving chest. Train held her close in his arms and suddenly, Eve felt like it was the safest place she'd ever been.

"Let's go home."

….

"Eve?" He knocked on her bedroom door a few minutes after he'd told her to change.

Neither of them talked or said anything as they made their way home. There were only glances and Train's worried expression. Eve was pretty depressed and he decided that maybe it wasn't the best time to ask her about why she just ran off.

But deep in his heart… Train knew why.

He texted Rika after he and Eve started running to the bus stop, telling her that the princess was okay and that she should go home too. Rika's reply came a few seconds later, and he could almost picture her sighing with relief as he read 'Ok. Take care.' in her message.

They received awkward stares as they boarded the bus, and Train thought that he heard whispers from the passengers up front. He didn't really care. All he wanted was to take Eve home and get her into some dry clothes before she gets a cold.

The house was dark and no one was home, save for the dog that was napping on the kitchen floor. A note was left on the fridge. Sven was out on sweeper business, and he wouldn't be back until tomorrow, much to Train's relief. At least he wouldn't be going all hysterical about them coming home all cold and soaking wet.

The Black Cat sighed and knocked again. Still no answer.

"I'm coming in." He said as he opened the door slightly.

She was sleeping.

He walked softly into the room and sat down at the edge of her bed, watching her stir as the mattress sank. Train smiled at the sleeping figure and reached over to touch her cheek.

"Sorry… I shouldn't have said all those things back at the restaurant." He whispered. "I just thought you'd give up if I said that Saya was…was… you know…"

Train gazed at her with a pained expression on his face, mentally punching himself for being such a jerk. Guilt racked his heart as he continued to watch her… She'd been so kind to him and so caring… How could he treat her like this?

"And I haven't said thank you… for the kiss." He had his hand on top of hers now.

He remembered the feel of her lips and the sound of her voice when Eve had said that she loved him. Train was shocked when he heard her say those words, even more shocked when she kissed him… but he chose to not 'wake up' and save Eve from the embarrassment. She was so young and so beautiful and she had a good future. Whereas he was burdened with sins of the past and tortured by memories he can't erase… He would only hold her back. Train didn't deserve someone like her. And although he admitted to himself that he had developed certain feelings for Eve, he still loved Saya… And he knew that he couldn't love them both.

Train stood up and walked to the door slowly. He took one last look at Eve, his vision blurred by tears and his heart sinking to the pits of his stomach…

He knew… that when the time came, and Eve finally musters the courage to finally tell him everything… eventually…

… he would break her heart.

….

**Author-person: **Was it okay?

If you're wondering, the restaurant (Alex's) is named after me… yes, _puts hand on heart_ I am Alex (dun-dun-dun-dun!)… In this story (although I didn't mention it) I was sitting next to where Eve, Train and Rika were sitting, drinking my super frothy-licious latte' and laughing at the world. Mwahahaha…

Again, I really want to say I'm sorry… and that the next chapter might take another two weeks… or less... I dunno anymore...


	12. Jealousy 101

**Chapter Twelve:** Jealousy 101

….

**Author-person:** I just realized that I had my anonymous review filter on… _whacks head on table_. Well, that was stupid…

Anyways, it's off… so non-members can now review… (Special thanks to Emmy-chan aka Li'l Lawliet!)

Oh, and I just posted some Vampire Knight one-shots (YuukixZero)… if some of you guys are interested, you can go check it out. They're entitled 'Better than Blood' and 'Hugs and Kisses'. Hope you like them!

And now, back to 'Of Princesses and Black Cats'!

**NOTE:** When you start to read Fenris' thoughts, (Yes, the dog.) imagine that he has a British accent.

….

Any minute now, and he was sure that his back would give way… He needed to get to the stand… and fast. The grass rippled under his feet as he walked, bumping a few people as he crossed the lawn with breakneck speed. _Just a little more. _He went faster, feeling the weight of the table on his back getting heavier and heavier by the second.

"Oh, thanks." A dark-haired teenager said as Train Heartnet made his last few steps.

Upon reaching his destination, he lay the table down on the grass and looked skyward. Train held up his hand to shield his eyes from the intense light.

The hot afternoon sun beat down on him and the busy students of Kayashima High mercilessly, sending malicious UV rays through the thinning ozone layer like laser beams being blasted from outer space. The weather was weird lately. One second there was a monsoon and then suddenly, there was a heat wave. Was the Earth's thermostat busted or what? He suddenly regretted having decided to wear long sleeves today.

Rubbing his aching back, he gratefully accepted bottled water from Ray Cobalt.

"Sorry to drag you into this. Are you sure it's okay?" The boy asked worriedly, scratching the back of his head.

Train drained the bottle and grinned at the boy. "It's fine. Really."

The class president bowed slightly and the sweeper felt the strange urge to squeeze him lifeless. He was so adorable. Completely, utterly adorable in the way he spoke so politely and in the way he carried himself. To Train, this was the true bishie, not that hot-shot Aizawa. Train would've begged on his knees to become Ray's older brother.

"Well… we'll make it up to you somehow."

Again with the politeness. Train would resort to kidnapping pretty soon. "There's no need for that. I'm just doing princess a little favor."

"Train!" Eve called out from afar, as if on cue.

The Black Cat smiled.

"I'll see you later then, Mr. Heartnet."

_Okay, I definitely have to find out where he lives._

"Call me Train for Pete's sake. You're making me feel like an old man."

….

Train was worried about how she would act after what happened back in the restaurant. It was his entire fault for ruining the good mood and getting all detached… He was a jerk and he knew it.

Train had never seen Eve so upset before. She seemed so fragile and vulnerable… and yet, so… beautiful at the same time. The Black Cat tried to shake the thoughts out of his head, but to no avail. He remembered her sitting against the cold brick wall… all drenched and her eyes, slightly red from all the crying she'd done. But he couldn't help but notice how her dress was glued damply to her body, finely accentuating a figure that he hadn't noticed before… and how she resembled an angel when she looked up at him in surprise. She seemed so innocent. So pretty. And in a bizarre way… so perfect. And if Eve wasn't too busy moping, she would've seen Train visibly flushing.

He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. _Dammit. _

Would she break down crying? Never try to speak to him again? Smash things on the wall? Train immediately fixed his eyes on the grotesque cookie jar on top of the counter. It looked like a cross-breed of a mudfish and a mutilated kangaroo (She should definitely get her hands on that). He waited nervously at the foot of the stairs when he had called her down for some dinner, keeping his fingers crossed behind his back.

_C__'__mon, that cookie jar has GOT to go_.

The door finally creaked open, and Train was utterly shocked when Eve had come bursting out of her room with a blinding radiance and a cheerful smile on her face. The princess acted like nothing happened… and he was somewhat glad that she was normal. Albeit a little disappointed because the ugly jar was still intact.

_Ah well, I can always put the blame on the dog._

When Sven came home in the morning, Fenris was sent out of the house and was told to 'think about what he's done'.

….

"What?" He said, walking over to her.

Train had that sweet smile on his face again, and Eve could see a group if girls literally dropping to the ground as he passed by. Damn him and his gorgeous pretty-boy looks. How could he be so sweaty and tired and still look impossibly good? Eve bit her lip. Was it still alright to look at him that way? To still admire him? And to still love him? She felt as though every single time they shared a happy moment, it ended up with her crying or her getting hurt. It was always her that would lose. But somehow, she'd already expected that. From the time that she'd realized her real feelings for him, Eve had prepared herself for all things she had to go through. And that included Train breaking her heart… whether it was intentional or not. It was extremely difficult to act like things were fine… but Eve could manage. It was all for Train anyway.

"Thanks for helping us out."

"No problem." _It__'__s the least I can do after__…_

"Train?"

He wiped the sweat on his brow with the back of his hand. Train felt his heart beating at an unusually fast pace.

"Are you alright?" Eve's voice shook a little. He looked flustered…seemingly bothered by something (which was extremely rare).

"Yeah. Just… tired. Mind if I take a rest?"

"No, not at all. Go ahead."

He nodded and made his way to the bench where Fenris was tied to. Train sat down and rubbed his temples. He needed to calm down and think rationally. Eve was like a sister to him… Okay, maybe something a little more than that. It was a feeling that was a teensy bit above infatuation. He was aware that he had somehow developed certain feelings for the princess over time. Especially when she had confessed and… well…kissed him. But he couldn't love her. It was just not right. Why? One, he still loved you-know-who. Two, if he did love Eve and it got out in the open, Sven would definitely kill him. Three, he was too old…well, maybe not… but he wasn't exactly a teenager anymore. And four, he just didn't… deserve her.

_I don't love her. _

Train ran a hand down his face.

Who was he kidding?

_I can't love her. _

He saw Eve talking with some of her classmates. She smiled. Then laughed. And for the first time, Train did not see her as a child… She looked so grown-up… and immensely beautiful. Eve pushed a lock of golden hair behind one ear and continued to chat with her classmates, completely unaware of the Black Cat gaping at her in obvious admiration. He put a hand over his mouth and felt a blush creeping to his cheeks.

_I… want to love her. _

He mentally punched himself. The sudden realization left him staring blankly into an open space, but in an instant, he had once again fixed his eyes on the golden-haired princess who was now carrying some cans of paint.

Fenris wagged his tail excitedly and rested his furry head on Train's left knee. The dog gazed at the troubled Black Cat, looking almost sympathetic.

"Thanks, buddy." Train scratched the back of Fenris' ear.

"I still owe you big time… for the cookie jar."

The dog looked like it was rolling its eyes.

_I know, I know__…__ I hated you for that__…__but now, I have an idea__…_

Fenris lifted his head up and bit Train's hand playfully.

_How __'__bout you and missy get together?_

"Y'know, you dogs have it easy all the time. I mean, you get to eat for free, you get to leave your crap anywhere and you don't have love-lives."

_Ohohoho. Yes we do. Humans are just too busy to notice. And excuse me? I don't just leave my poop lying around. _

Train heaved a sigh and patted the dog's head. "Maybe… I should leave."

Fenris raised a non-existent eyebrow. _What? You can__'__t! Who__'__s going to scratch my belly then? Only you can do that!_

"But then, I'd be hurting Eve again."

_True. _

"But if she confesses, and I reject her… I'll hurt her even more."

_I thought you loved her? Why would you reject her? _

"Kyaaaaa!"

The sudden outburst of fangirls almost sent Train jumping up from his seat. He looked up and saw the familiar narcissist making his way towards Eve. _Oh great. _Aizawa had a bouquet of lovely magnolias in hand, and an annoying smug plastered on his face. Train saw the bishie flip his bangs and kiss Eve's hand in a prince-like manner.

"To MY princess." He put an emphasis on the 'my', making it a point to all of Eve's other admirers to just back the hell off.

Eve reluctantly accepted the flowers from him and gave him a small smile. "Thank you. They're beautiful." she said. But in reality, she wanted to shove them straight up his ass. She was so not in the mood for his flirting with her. There were posters to paint, and tables to set up… How could this guy still find time to try and woo her?

Train felt his stomach lurch as he saw Makoto grin from ear to ear. What did Eve say to him? And where was Rika when you needed her? She was supposed to keep watch if the bastard suddenly swooped in and tried to hit on the princess. But as Train glanced around, she was nowhere to be found. Something like panic flashed in his eyes.

"Not as beautiful as you…" Makoto said, winking. Fangirls swooned in the background.

Eve was disgusted, but smiling.

Train was panicking, but not doing anything.

"I see your little friend is here." The bishie turned to look at Train who was sitting quietly on a bench.

"Yeah. He's helping out."

Makoto's eyes narrowed as he saw the brown-haired man stand up slowly and make his way toward them, dragging his stupid mutt along. He hated Train Heartnet in every aspect, and his feelings intensified when his fangirls started chattering excitedly as the 'hot-guy-in-motorcycle' (as they deemed him) came closer. Makoto observed the man warily. He was wearing a white shirt this time with the long sleeves rolled up to his elbows, frayed blue jeans that were torn in the knees and black sneakers.

Train looked normal to him, but in the eyes of a fangirl, he was a knight, and the adorable husky that walked beside him was his noble steed.

Train stuffed one hand in his pocket, while the other clutched Fenris' leash tightly.

"Er… I guess I should say hi."

Fangirls swooned again. Train sweat-dropped.

"Hn." Makoto said, his hate meter going up a notch.

Eve sensed the dark aura forming and immediately stepped in. "I just realized, I haven't introduced you two properly."

"Aizawa Makoto. Son of the president of Aizawa Electronics, heir to a multi-million dollar corporation, Kayashima High's idol and Eve's noble prince." He though up his own intro, bowed and conjured a rose out of nowhere, almost magically.

"Train Heartnet. Ace sweeper, professional gunman, Eve's knight in shining armor and the guy who just stole your fans." Train winked at the crowd of girls.

"Kyaaaaaa!!"

The narcissist was livid. Eve could've sworn that she saw steam coming out of his ears.

Well, if Makoto was going to act all cocky, then Train will just have to play along with him. He actually wanted to add, 'former Chronos Number and top Eraser' to his introduction just to see how the guy would react. But if he went as far as that, it would definitely cause a ruckus.

The pretty-boy opened his mouth to say something, but a certain Ray Cobalt appeared.

"Aizawa! Causing trouble again?"

And for the umpteenth time, fangirls swooned.

The class president crossed his arms in front of his chest and frowned at the alleged 'idol' of the high school. He looked somewhat exhausted, neck free from the tie, coat discarded and sleeves rolled up just like Train's. He was authoritative, clearly respected by some of the students… with an exception of Makoto, who seemed undaunted by president's scolding.

Ray ran a hand through his black hair irritatingly.

"Aren't you supposed to be with YOUR class and setting up YOUR stand for the Night Festival?" He said, amber eyes hinted with anger.

Makoto raised both hands up and smirked. Clearly, he didn't care what the other teen had to say. Nor did he have any intention of getting bossed around.

"Lighten up, Cobalt. I'm not causing trouble."

And with one swift motion, he gathered a startled Eve in his arms and kissed her on the lips. "Just seeing my girlfriend."

Train had his mouth hanging open, Ray gasped, fangirls fainted, the dog barked, the world ended, (well no, not really) Eve was paralyzed, and if Rika was there, she would've been screaming.

"Get your hands of off me!" The princess finally yelled, breaking free from Makoto's grasp.

"Princess, I--" She slapped him with all the force she could muster and then threw the bouquet at him.

Eve's fingers reached for her lips. It was just a smack, but she felt… violated. That was uncalled for. Completely unexpected. It was crazy. It was stupid. It was… gross! And Train had front row seats. He actually looked like he was going to throw up… but then, he suddenly looked angry and Eve saw his hand slowly reaching for Hades. He stopped as soon as he realized that she was staring at him, and then looked away.

"I--…"

"Shut up, Aizawa. Go back to your classmates." Ray demanded going a little pink around the ears.

With his head bowed low, and the air of confidence around him dissolving almost completely, he stalked off… but his fangirls were too shocked to follow.

Train felt blood draining from his face. His hand clenched and unclenched. Strangely though, the anger that had gripped his chest subsided and was replaced… by another feeling. He turned his heel, not wanting to see Eve's flushed face or hear Ray's frantic apologies for not having prevented the whole thing. Was it… jealousy that he was feeling? Was this how Eve felt every time he mentioned Saya? If so, then he had to admire her… because it hurt like hell. He found that he couldn't think straight and that he wanted to claw his heart out if it was possible.

"Train?"

He looked over his shoulder and smiled at Eve half-heartedly. "I'll see you at home. Fenris' hungry."

_No I'm not. And stop using me as an excuse!_

Jealousy.

Train had never felt it before…

…and he didn't like it one bit.

….

**Author-person: **I figured that Train had to realize his feelings at some point… And Eve needs to get revenge for all the times he'd hurt her feelings. So, ha!

Ray Cobalt? A feeling in my gut told me to include another OC in the story. I actually used him waaaaay back in my first story (I was eight, I think).

… it wasn't pretty… the first story, I mean. Sadly, it was a literary failure. _Pinches cheeks._

I hope this chap is okay… my brother was annoying me while I was typing this…


	13. Musings of a Black Cat

**Chapter Thirteen: **Musings of a Black Cat

…_._

**Author-person:** I guess I owe some people explanations._ sweatdrop_ I posted Chapter Thirteen entitled 'Walks' a few days ago, and decided to delete it on the same day. I made some mistakes and decided to revise it a bit… Hope it's alright with you guys… and I'm sorry for the confusion I've caused. To make up for it, I decided to do a double chappie update.

Next, I know I haven't been updating as quickly as I should. And for that, I have a couple of reasons: 1) Stupid writer's block and 2) I accidentally burned my fingers in a feeble attempt to make dinner (and so I couldn't write or type properly because my hands were so friggin' swollen)…

_Bows deeply _I'm really sorry!

….

**Train's POV:**

Okay, so maybe walking out after a scene as…'scandalous' as that, wasn't the brightest idea. But then again, (I admit) I'm not exactly the smartest guy around. And I knew that pretty soon, I would have to face the consequences of being an imbecile. It was either an interrogation by the princess or the cold shoulder… I mulled over it for half an hour before deciding what I preferred… and I ended up choosing the (possible) interrogation. Subsequently, I ran a hand down my face in frustration. Why didn't I pick the brush-off? I honestly didn't know. But something in my gut told me that I didn't want to be ignored by Eve.

"Eve." Her name escaped my lips suddenly, and I found myself blushing as a smiling image of her flashed in my head.

The smell of curry filled the entire kitchen as I lifted the pot's lid.

Still not done.

And after heaving a long sigh, I sat down on one of the stools at the kitchen bar and waited for another ten minutes or so. Why did I even decide to cook? I could've just picked up the phone and ordered some Chinese take-out… Besides, I haven't cooked in a while and I was beginning to wonder if the curry I was making would even be fit for human consumption. Meh. Anything would be fine as long as it would stop my stomach from growling.

Propping my elbows on the counter, I watched Fenris snooze on the floor. He was huddled in a mat at the farthest corner of the kitchen, kicking his hind legs as he slept. The thought of dogs being so darn lucky crossed my mind again and I felt myself smiling when I saw that the fur ball had woken up as soon as the word, 'kibble' entered my head. Was this dog telepathic or something? I chuckled to myself and he stared at me with his light blue eyes.

_Morning._

Fenris looked like he was grinning. Or was I just imagining that he was? He lifted his head, nose in the air.

_Curry!_

I blinked as he wagged his tail excitedly and barked. Apparently, he really was hungry and I didn't actually lie about my reason for going home.

Well, at least I was honest.

Ugh. Who am I kidding?

My forehead made impact on the counter. Damn Aizawa to hell for making me _jealous_. I shuddered at the word. It was obvious that I hated the feeling. Loathed it. Absolutely couldn't stand it. But I couldn't escape the reality of it all. It was what I was really feeling at that moment… when Eve's lips crashed into his.

Dammit.

The scenes played in my head. Him kissing her. Me just standing there. I hated myself as much as I hated Aizawa… probably more when I realized that this girl that I had grown extremely fond of, actually loved me and I'm being an idiot by pushing her away. I remembered suddenly, how she cried when I told Rika that I had a girlfriend… How many times have I hurt her exactly? How many times have I said Saya's name so casually in front of her? How many times have I ignored the blushing, the staring?

And when she kissed me, thinking I was asleep… how could I act like nothing ever happened?

Eve.

I saw her image in my head again. Her smile. Her eyes. Her hair. Her laugh. Everything about her was so… amazing… so gentle… and so beautiful.

I banged my head on the counter again. I wasn't supposed to be thinking about her like that. I was supposed to be the mature one here. The one who would act as if he knew nothing. The one who would act like he wasn't interested. The one who was supposed to dump her in the end, right? Not the one getting jealous over stupid pretty-boys. Not the one thinking about her all the time.

Not the one… falling for her.

It never really occurred to me that I would actually feel this way for Eve. That I would actually… actually… well, to put it bluntly… love her. I always thought that Saya was enough and that Saya would be the only one. But who would've thought that the princess would actually (as corny as it sounds) fill the void in my heart? I felt happy for some reason. Probably because I'd become somewhat aware of my feelings for Eve. I would've whoop-ed and punched the air when I remembered, again, that she told me she loved me and kissed me… but rationality came along and gave me a sharp tap on the shoulder.

Again, I was hating myself for even thinking about letting my feelings for her just… come out. Was I sure about it? Definitely, absolutely, positively sure about it? Sure enough that I would march up to Sven and be brave enough to tell him everything? Including me breaking his favorite cookie jar? I needed to think about this. Maybe give myself a little more time to brood over all of it…

_And here we go again. I thought that you decided to love her? Why are you getting all confused?_

The dog, to my surprise, barked again and looked as if he was rolling his eyes.

"You understand?"

Peh. Now I'm talking to dogs.

_Peh. Now he's talking to me._

I turned away to check on the curry, ignoring how the dog climbed up to a chair as if he was a therapist or something.

"Down, Fenris." I said as I turned the stove off.

He didn't budge.

I sighed and sat down in front of him. Fenris stared at me from across the table, raising one paw as if he was telling me to talk. I scowled.

"You know nothing, dog."

_Yes, I do. I know plenty, Train Heartnet. Like the fact that you were blushing when she kissed you._

Fenris yawned, I think, or was he just opening his mouth? And instead of smelling like rotten cabbages, his breath smelled like mint. I cocked my head to the side. Mint? Was Sven letting the dog drink mouthwash?

And as if realizing what I was thinking, Fenris abruptly shut his mouth and jumped down from the chair.

I smirked as he walked out of the kitchen and into the living room…

Honestly, that dog is weird beyond all reason. It seems like he understands everything… That he knows things that we don't.

Slumping on the table, I decided to forget Fenris and the 'mystery' that surrounded him. It wasn't really important if he was a genetically-altered mutant dog or an alien from another faraway galaxy… I'll have to find out about all of that later. Because right now, I needed to get my thoughts straight, needed to make sure about my feelings about the princess, and needed to figure out how to tell good old Patchy everything without him going crazy.

The doorbell rang as soon as I stood up to get the table ready. A second time as I was walking… third when I cursed under my breath because the one at the door couldn't wait for a freakin' second. And as I'd reached the living room the person was ringing the doorbell like he/she was having an epileptic fit.

"Dammit! Can't you--?"

I stood frozen at the door.

It was Eve who was ringing the bell like a frantic maniac.

I clutched the knob tightly and felt my cheeks getting hot as she smiled at me apologetically.

"Sorry. I left my house keys."

"It's okay." I managed to say as she walked in and took her shoes off.

I felt my heart thumping wildly against my chest. Why did she have to come home now? I wasn't… ready to talk to her about anything just yet. It would be awkward. Weird. Embarrassing. How would I explain my reasons for leaving without making a fool out of myself?

My hands were shaking inside my pockets, and I was sure that my face had gone beet red.

"You're early." I said, trying to sound calm. But the words came out sounding strained and unwillingly forced out of my mouth.

She turned around to face me, and for a second, it looked like one of those scenes from a movie where everything goes in slow-mo.

God, help me.

"What?" She said tucking a lock of gold behind one ear.

I grunted and tried to not to look at her face. "I said, 'you're early'."

"Oh. Well… after what happened earlier I sort of… well, I couldn't work properly." She flushed and looked at me worriedly.

Shrugging, I made my way to the kitchen, trying to stop my hands from vibrating as I took out some plates. Lunch. I needed to eat. Maybe then I'll stop shaking. I was hungry. Yep, that was it. You get shaky when you're hungry, right? RIGHT?

"Train, need help?"

I'm hungry. Just a wee bit hungry. Just ignore the princess' voice and get something to eat. "No, I'm fine."

"What did you cook for lunch?"

"Curry."

I saw her grinning as she plopped on a chair, _my _chair, and started humming a song that I'd heard over the radio this morning. I mentally banged my head on a brick wall and took out the tableware as fast as I could. I did NOT want this. I did NOT want to be alone in the house with her right now. Where was Sven when you needed him? Gah!! I can't take it anymore!!

"Train?"

I looked over my shoulder hesitantly and saw her blushing while scuffing her bunny slippers against the tiled floor. She avoided my eyes and was fumbling with the edges of her skirt…

Noooo!! The sheer cuteness is blinding me!!

"Er…Train?"

"Y-yeah?" I said, trying to sound calm as I set the dishes on the table. My heart was racing… and any second, it felt like it would burst through my rib cage.

She fell silent and I waited for her to start talking again.

Eve shifted uncomfortably in her seat, opening her mouth every few seconds only to close it again as I glanced at her. I relaxed a bit, and sat down. Something was troubling her, and I had to put my problems aside for her sake. This was Eve after all. She stared at the floor for the longest time, her head bowed low that I couldn't see her face behind that curtain of gold.

She suddenly looked up at me and smiled.

I felt my eye twitching.

Wait, if I look at the signs… this could be… a confession? Hell, no. Can't be. I'm not ready for that right now!

I groaned and slapped a hand on my forehead. This can NOT be happening! Seriously, if she says those words again, I think I'm gonna faint. I haven't really thought things through yet. I was unsure of myself… of my feelings… of… of… everything! Almost absent-mindedly, I started rubbing my knuckles, trying to ready myself in case she says what I think she's going to say. But if she does, what will I tell her?

_You're too young._

_You're not my type._

_Sven'll kill me if he hears you!_

_You're kidding, right?_

_I'm sorry, I still love Saya._

_I love you too._

Eve stared at me from across the table, watching me panic and get all flustered. Damn. I thought I'd put my problems aside for her?

"You've been acting weird lately." She finally said as she reached out to touch my hand.

I winced.

"Is that… what you wanted to tell me?" My voice went hoarse.

"Well… yeah. I'm worried."

"Oh. I'm fine. I've always been weird." I grinned.

She laughed and shot me an amused look. "Good point."

I fixed my eyes at her hand that was atop mine and flushed again.

She blinked and followed my gaze, and immediately, she snatched her hand away. "Sorry."

"Hn."

Okay, not the reply I originally intended, but I couldn't talk properly... If I said anything else, I was sure that I'd end up stuttering.

As the minutes passed, I felt a little more comfortable with Eve. I couldn't really deny that I enjoyed her company… And in the end, she helped me out with setting the table since she told me, as I quote, 'You're too damn slow'. I tried refusing at first, but after much prodding, I relented. What was I to do? I couldn't refuse my princess.

The spoon, loaded with rice and curry, stopped half way before entering my mouth.

_My_ princess?

I glanced at Eve who was busy eating and complimenting on how good the food was.

Was it really right for me to think of her as _mine_? Of course not. If I did, I'd be no different from Aizawa. And I didn't want that.

I was different from that pretty-boy in a number of ways…

He saw Eve as a thing he possessed... like he owned her…

Whereas, I, although having just fully realized it now… genuinely, truly, without a doubt…

… loved her.

….

**Author-person**: I hated this chapter. Well, maybe hate isn't the right word. But I didn't like it much.

Fenris? I dunno where he went. Outside I guess. Did I mention he has a girlfriend who's a Golden Retriever? _Sweatdrop _

If I have any errors please tell me... I was too sleepy to check...


	14. Walks

**Chapter Fourteen:** Walks

….

**Author-person:** This is the original Chapter Thirteen. For those who've already read this, I haven't really changed anything other than the ending (since that was where I made a mistake).

….

Sven's good eye darted from Eve to Train.

They've been quiet recently. Unusually quiet. Especially Train who seemed to be out of it most of the time. He was reading something from a soup can now, and somehow, Sven just didn't think it was right to leave him be.

"What's made soup so interesting lately?"

"The fact that this one is NOT alphabet soup and is hardly even edible."

The gentleman raised a cigarette to his lips and gave Train an amused look. "It's vegetable soup."

"Exactly. Who eats this?'

"People do."

Black Cat raised an eyebrow and rested his chin on the heel of his palm. He wasn't really staring at the can… more like; beyond it… he was staring at Eve.

Train hadn't found any work recently. Probably because Sven had taken the liberty of collecting every good bounty for the past two weeks. One would expect that someone over forty would get a less tiresome job. Not Sven Volfied though. He'd promised himself that he would retire when he reaches seventy, and this gave Train a reason to worry. The younger sweeper could picture it now: Sven in a customized wheelchair beating the hell out of criminals with his worn-out briefcase. He almost chuckled at the thought, but was easily distracted by a certain blonde girl that had looked over at his direction.

"Sven, what color looks good on me? Blue, Yellow or Red?" Eve suddenly asked, looking up from the magazine that she was reading. She was sitting on the couch, flipping the pages of her reading material absent-mindedly. That is, of course, until something caught her eye.

_Ahh…and here I am thinking that she was looking at me._

"Well… I'd prefer blue," Her surrogate father answered after giving a little thought into it. "What for?"

"Just asking. Train?"

"Eh?" Train's heart went up to his throat.

"What color looks good on me?" The princess asked again, going slightly red. It was kind of awkward asking him this, but Eve figured that she needed his opinion too.

"Blue would be nice… but the pink dress that you had on before looked good on you. Maybe you should try that shade." It was his turn to blush now.

"Okay."

He fumbled with the can again and looked away. Train wondered if Eve suspected anything yet… He DID walk out that time when Makoto had kissed her and had thought up of the lamest possible excuse to leave. It was obvious that he was jealous… and he prayed that Eve was extremely dense about these kinds of things. The last thing he wanted was his secret admiration for her being found out… And sad to say, he wasn't doing a very good of hiding it.

"I'm going out." He said, grabbing his grey sweater and walking as fast as he could.

Train couldn't take it anymore. He felt his throat squeeze shut and his gut twisting. He tried hard to not turn red as he neared the place where Eve was sitting. Seriously, he never felt so… insecure before. It was the first time that he ever seemed uncomfortable with the princess… The first time he actually couldn't bear seeing Eve… and not being able to go near her because he was too afraid, or too nervous, or too shy…

He felt a strong desire to hug her. To feel her. To actually…_gulp_…kiss her.

Eve raised her head and eyed the unusually jumpy Black Cat. She felt a little worried about him since he saw the jerk, Aizawa kiss her… She hadn't even apologized to Train. But then again, why should she be all worried? It's not like they had some sort of mutual understanding, and it wasn't like Train would actually care if she got into a relationship. He loved someone else after all.

"Can I come?" She said suddenly as he passed.

Train turned his head to face Eve who had tossed the magazine across the table. She looked at him imploringly, giving him an extremely cute pout.

He felt his heart beating wildly against his rib cage and his stomach getting flooded with butterflies. Did she know how much torture she was making him go through? Train felt the all too familiar blush creeping up to his cheeks as she stood up and smiled at him.

_Oh, God._

"F-Fine," He said crossing his arms to hide his shaking hands. "But I'm only going out for a walk. Just for some air."

"I know… That's why I'm coming with you." She said, still grinning.

_Damn. Since when did she smile like that?_

"Are you sure? I mean, just walking... and coming back after a few minutes and well… just walk--."

"Train, I WANT to go out for a walk." Eve said, tugging at his arm.

He felt like her touch had been electricity.

"Okay."

….

Fifteen minutes… and neither of them spoke a word since they set foot outside the house.

The sun was already sinking and the sky had the most beautiful orangey glow that Train had ever seen. It was like they were meant to take this walk. Like nature had actually willed for them to choose this particular time of the day to just 'casually' take a stroll and enjoy the romantic view of the setting sun. Train had only hoped that the orange helped to hide the tinge of pink in his cheeks as his hand 'accidentally' brushed Eve's. The oh-so romantic setting however, served no help in clearing the confused man's thoughts. In fact, it only made things worse. Countless images he'd seen in soap operas plagued Train's head. More often than not, the images included seemingly bone-crushing hugs and ten-minute lip-locks.

Black Cat shuddered and shoved his hands in his pocket.

They followed the road, and listened to the sounds of the quiet neighborhood…

The rustling of the leaves, the faintest sound of laughter from a nearby house, and their footsteps on the pavement…

It was an awkward moment for both of them… But eventually, someone had to break the silence.

"I haven't actually… apologized. So… er… sorry." Eve whispered, staring at the ground and folding her arms tightly across her chest.

"For what?" A Black Cat answered, his brows suddenly furrowing in obvious confusion.

"Well… because you had to see that."

Train looked confused still, his eyes shifting sideways to indicate that he was scanning his brain. Then it came to him like a whack on the head.

"Oh. That," He said almost too bitterly. Train saw Eve wince at the sound of his voice.

"Y-You don't have to apologize!" He quickly added, waving his arms around in panic. "It was that bas-… jerk, Aizawa's doing. You didn't really want that kiss."

_Or did you?_

A familiar pain tugged at his heart.

Eve looked at him as he went silent. He seemed lost in his head again, like his soul had left his body or something. She looked at his profile and she saw the same man that she'd seen at Creed's rooftop. That same sad, wistful expression on his pale face… His eyes were different though… The startling honey-colored orbs reflected the glow of the now lit streetlamps… there was something in those eyes that Eve hadn't seen before. It was different from the look Train had when he was thinking of Saya. Much different. It seemed to me more agonized, more pained… It was a side of him that Eve hadn't seen yet. A side that didn't want to be revealed.

It had gone dark by then, and the cool breeze was starting to pick up. Eve shivered, regretting that she hadn't brought her coat along. Maybe she got too excited about getting to spend time with Train again. She was always like that. Always forgetting things whenever Train occupied her mind.

"You okay?" He said, not looking at her.

"Yeah."

Train heaved a long sigh and took his sweater off, throwing it over Eve's shoulders. "Here."

"You should--…"

"For once, Eve, just accept the gesture and politely say thank you." He still wasn't looking at her.

But Train wanted to. He wanted to look at her so badly. Wanted to memorize the angelic features of her face… He wanted to touch her, to feel the warmth of her skin against his cold, trembling hands. Wanted to tell her what he was feeling about her, and to get it all out of his chest. He wanted to take the easy way. But he couldn't.

Because he would still hurt her.

Because there was a part of his heart that still didn't belong to Eve.

"Thank you." She said, looking more worried than ever. He was acting different… like he was hiding something from her…

"Train, is there something wrong?" Eve asked gently, taking hold of his shaking hand.

He tore his eyes away from the ground and looked at her, his mouth half opened and his eyes widened in surprise. Train felt his heart squeeze. Was it right to just stay quiet? To deny his feelings like they didn't really matter? And what about Eve? Was it fair to just keep her hoping? To leave her drowning in her seemingly 'unrequited' love?

"Train…" Eve prodded, holding his hand tighter. She wanted to know what was bothering him. What was making him suffer so much? What was making him feel so bad?

They stood silently for what seemed like forever, just looking in each other's eyes…

He, knowing how much she loved him and how much he wanted to love her back…

She, knowing how much she loved him and how he could never love her back…

Train held her hand tightly and smiled. He couldn't. At least, not right now…

"I'm fine. Just… tired."

"Of what?"

_Of hurting you…_

"Just tired. Let's leave it at that." And he let go of her hand.

"Are you sure you don't want to tell me anything? I'll listen. I'm your…" Eve clenched her fist, her knuckles going white.

"…friend remember?"

"I can't tell you anything. I've got nothing to tell, princess." He smiled again, trying to hide the pain that had gripped his chest.

Eve bit her lip. He was keeping something from her. What was it? She wanted to know… But Train had made himself perfectly clear…

He wasn't going to tell anything.

"Okay. But remember, I'm always here for you."

Black Cat nodded and took her hand in his again… For now, he'd be contented with just that.

"C'mon, dinner must be ready."

….

Sven eyed his two visitors warily. His gaze fell momentarily on the dark-haired girl and then to the handsome man that sat beside her. The sweeper hadn't really expected them to come over for dinner. And he didn't know what they really came for either. It was kind of weird seeing them again. They looked quite different from the way they were a few years back.

The guy had lost the top hat and his dark glasses.

The girl looked more mature, her hair falling down to her waist.

Sven sweatdropped as the girl swung one leg easily over the other and poked the silent man that was reading a book beside her.

"What is it?" The man said, mildly annoyed.

"Where's Kuro-sama?" The girl mouthed, pouting and pulling on the blonde's sleeve.

"Ah… he's just out for a little walk! I'm sure he'll be back in a few minutes." Sven almost stammered as he waved his hands in the air.

"I'm sorry to impose, Mr. Volfied. It's just that she wanted to see her… 'Kuro-sama'… and she wouldn't shut up about it until I agreed." The man apologized while flipping the pages of his book.

"It's alright. I just wasn't expecting you guys to drop by. You could've called."

"We don't know your number. And I think Kuro-sama's changed his since he hasn't been replying to any of my messages."

_He never replies to any of your messages_

Sven heard the front door open a few seconds later.

"Who's car was that?"

"Dunno, maybe Sven has visitors."

"I don't think Sven told me anything about having guests."

As Train entered the living room, he heard a high-pitched screech and a woman he didn't know came lunging at him. Before he knew it, he was pinned to the floor by an uncouth boar that kept squealing a title only a certain Kirisaki Kyoko called him.

"KURO-SAMA!!"

….

**Author-person: **And that was the little change I made.

Is it okay? _hides behind makeshift manga blockade_


	15. Moving On

**Chapter Fifteen: **Moving On

….

**Author-person: **Whoa. I haven't updated in, like, weeks… sorry 'bout that. I was originally gonna post this a few days ago, but some things… got in the way. Anyways, the next chappie will take a while since I'm out of ideas for this story... I'll be working on some of my one-shots while I try to think of something.

I hope you guys will be patient with me.

Oh, and I updated my profile recently… _throws confetti… _

_…._

Eve stared at him with narrowed eyes.

IRRITATION

Not a new word in Eve's vocabulary, but its meaning became synonymous with loathing when a seemingly innocent and bubbly Kyoko Kirisaki came into the picture.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that? It's not like I wanted this!" Train held his hands up, backing away from the vexed princess.

"Why did she have to force us-- YOU to come with her?"

"You know Kyoko. She's '_fond'_ of me."

"But lugging a GUY along when she's shopping for LINGERIE? Not what I'd call appropriate."

At this, Train turned into an unbelievable shade of red.

Although he and Eve were just standing outside the store, he felt like he'd stepped into official Woman Territory. An evil place that he clearly wasn't supposed to enter. Every now and then, women would pass by and giggle at him. Some would even dare and whisper something stupid out loud… like he was waiting for his girlfriend or something. He glanced at Eve nervously every time he thought that she heard them, but she appeared nonchalant. Or maybe she didn't hear? Train hoped it was the latter, but that was most unlikely.

"Mmph." Was all he could say.

He really wasn't in the mood for anything other than stuffing his face full after Kyoko's little shopping spree. And maybe getting some time alone with Eve.

_Time alone with Eve?_

Train ran a hand over his face. Yes, he wanted that. Very much. But rationality was visiting him frequently these past few days and it prevented him from doing a lot of idiotic things. Like, breaking Sven's _other _ugly cookie jar, blowing Aizawa's head off, and telling Eve that he loved her.

"Why did you come along, then?"

Eve blinked, then blushed. "Well, when I learned that Kyoko was going to the mall, I decided to buy some stuff as well."

"Oh? Then where's the off-limits-shopping-bag-of-girly-stuff-that-I'm-not-supposed-to-look-at you're supposed to be carrying?" He lifted his eyebrows and smirked.

Train loved it when she went pink and started to get all jumpy.

"I'll buy my stuff when Kyoko's done."

"I see." Train said. A hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Eve humph-ed and looked away. He was teasing her again… but in a way, she liked it. After the 'incident' with Makoto, he hadn't really talked to her in the same offhand manner like before. Train seemed cautious. Like he was protecting some deep, dark secret that no one other than him should know about. Eve was intrigued at first, but when he had started engaging in more lively conversations with her again, she decided to drop it and dismiss the weird behavior as a 'guy thing'.

"Kyoko has returned!"

Eve's small smile faded in an instant.

The girl flung her arms around the Black Cat's neck, letting the shopping bags hit him in the face and giving him a little peek of what was inside.

_Is that… lace?_

He blushed.

"K-Kyoko…"

"Kuro-sama, let's go!!" She said enthusiastically, hugging Train's arm and pulling him to the next boutique.

Train sighed and looked at Eve with pleading eyes. The princess just shrugged and followed quietly. She was still annoyed at Kyoko who was constantly clinging to the brown-haired bishounen, but there really wasn't anything she could do about it. Eve knew that she had no right to be possessive of Train, after all.

"That's a girl-store!" Train exclaimed after seeing the display on the window.

True enough, all they sold in the shop were women wear. Skirts, low-waist jeans, cute baby-tees and some extremely revealing clothes that Train didn't think existed. He looked at Kyoko incredulously as he pointed weakly at the store. She nodded vigorously in response, trying to pull him inside.

"I-am-staying-OUTSIDE!" He said through clenched teeth.

Eve sweatdropped and decided, finally, to stop the duo's idiotic antics.

"Kyoko, I'll go with you."

"Eh?" The Tao user's grip loosened and Train fell flat on his face.

"I have some… things to buy. I'd like to come with you." Eve blushed and fingered her golden hair.

Kyoko tilted her head. Giving her brain a few seconds to register what Eve had said, another few seconds to think of an answer, and ten seconds to try and contain her heartfelt gratitude.

"Eve-chan!! Of course! Come with me!" She chirped happily.

"Princess." Train tugged on Eve's other arm, and pulled her close to him. "Kyoko, could you give us a second?"

He dragged her a few feet away from the befuddled Tao user, before turning to face the princess… his face, flushed and his heart, thumping loudly.

"Are you kidding? You're actually going to buy something from there? Have you seen what's inside?" Train said in a frantic whisper.

"Train, I'm not going to buy anything… weird. Just normal clothes. Like what I'm wearing now." She said pointing at her black top and skirt.

"I only saw string and strips of cloth in there!"

Eve rolled her eyes.

"Do I look like someone who'd buy that sort of stuff?" She retorted, crossing her arms over her chest. "But aside from the 'string and strips of cloth', there are some other good stuff inside."

"Eve…"

"You're being paranoid Heartnet… protective even. And that's not even your job. It's Sven's."

Train's eyes widened and Eve wanted to grin as she saw the look on his face. But he gave her a deadpan glare that told her to keep her lips from twitching upward.

"Well, if being protective isn't my job, then what is? Being the slob? The bum? The glutton of our little trio?" He said still whispering. Yet, Eve could hear the slight anger in his voice.

"I didn't mean that. You know I'd never think that about you."

"Hey, I'm just trying to do my part of being like… an older brother to you. And I think brothers should stop little sisters from going into stores like _that._"

He winced when he said 'older brother'.

And Eve did the same when she heard 'little sister'.

Train stayed silent for a moment, trying hard not to look at Eve who was scuffing her foot against the floor. Maybe he did go a little overboard there. He knew the princess well enough to trust her to buy decent clothes… and it wasn't really his business if she wanted to buy anything… adult-ish.

Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair and crossed his arms as Eve did earlier.

"Fine, you can go. But no tube tops!" He said, smiling a little bit.

"I solemnly swear, no tube tops."

She raised her right hand and recited the words as if they were part of an oath. Eve grinned and made her way to Kyoko.

"And no fashion advice from Kyoko!"

….

"How does it look?"

"Aww… Eve-chan, I love it!"

Eve twirled around and looked at herself in the mirror. It suited her quite nicely and she couldn't wait to wear it on the festival.

"Are you sure you don't wanna buy anything else? I mean, I got a lot of good stuff." Kyoko said as she watched her blonde friend have the clothes wrapped up.

"I think that's all I can afford right now. It was pretty expensive, you know."

"I'll pay for the other stuff."

"Thanks… but I'm not sure Train would approve if I buy anything else other than _that." _

"But it's a surprise for him, ne?"

Eve blinked. "Er… what makes you say that?"

"Kyoko can sense things like that Eve-chan. I may be a little dull on other things, but when I comes to my Kuro-sama…" She let out a dreamy sigh and almost looked as if she was melting.

Eve smiled and took her shopping bag.

She understood how Kyoko felt about the Black Cat and that it was only a harmless little crush… but that didn't mean that Eve wasn't tempted to hit the girl with a spiked club whenever she got too clingy for her own good. Kyoko and Train's relationship was anything but romantic, and yet, why did the princess feel overly jealous each time he gave the girl one of those award-winning smiles…

"I take it that Kuro-sama and you are dating?"

Eve nearly dropped the shopping bags on the floor.

"N-No."

"Aw, c'mon Eve… don't hide it from me. I now you were kinda mad when I was hugging him, and I'm sorry for that. I just couldn't help myself." Kyoko said, (read: squealed) pinching the princess' cheeks. Hard.

The blonde's face heated up. Dating? That's a little too far-fetched, don't you think? How could Kyoko assume such a thing? But then again, she is an idiot. Oops. But really, did it seem that way?

"I'm serious, Kyoko. We're not… together." She pried the dark-haired girl's hands away from her face.

"Hm. Well, it certainly looked like you were in a relationship… Kuro-sama was staring at you the whole time. Then he seemed like he wanted to talk to you a couple of times, though I was rambling too much about the stray cats that I brought home that he didn't exactly have the chance to get into a decent conversation with you until I bought some things from the linge--." Eve put a hand over her talkative friend's mouth, and shook her head.

"Kyoko, that's impossible. You're hyper-active imagination must be working up again."

The Tao user removed the princess' hand from her mouth. "I'm serious!"

"Uh-huh. And I'm Pikachu in frilly pink tutu."

"Well, with your nano-thingies you could be Pikachu in a frilly pink tutu. Hey! I wanna see you turn into that!"

Thankfully, this girl had an incredibly short attention span and Eve didn't have to hear nonsense about the Black Cat 'ogling' her all the while they were in the mall.

They came out of the boutique a few minutes later, after Kyoko was convinced that Charden would most likely have the ability to turn into a yellow Poke'mon at will.

"What the hell took you so long?" Train asked raising a fine brow. He pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on and turned to look at the irritated blonde and the babbling bimbo.

"What? It only took us thirty minutes, Train."

"ONLY THIRTY MINUTES? Just so you know, in thirty minutes I could've broken into a mansion slash top-secret research lab, beat the crap out of… fifty guards, busted every single surveillance camera, and burned the whole godforsaken place to the ground!"

"You're talking about Torneo's aren't you?"

"Yep."

Eve sighed. "You left out the parts where you almost blew my head off and that little face off we had in the front yard."

"If I included those parts then I'd be breaking the thirty minute margin!"

"Whatever."

Kyoko grinned at the bickering pair.

No, she didn't forget their little conversation back in the boutique, she didn't believe that Charden could turn into a Pikachu, and she didn't forget how Eve blushed at the mere mention of Train Heartnet's name.

She stared at the brown-haired man she thought she once loved… And she could clearly see… though he tried hard to hide it, there was no doubt.

_Kuro-sama, you're finally trying move on._

…_._

**Author-person:** Kyoko's not much of a pain in the ass here so... I guess you could say she's matured.

Sorry… it didn't come out as good as I had hoped. This is sort of a filler chapter since I'm probably gonna end this story pretty soon.

Probably… in two chapters? Now, how in hell am I going to do that?

Sigh. As I said in the A/N above, next update will take unbelievably long. I'm really sorry but I can't get any good ideas for this fanfic… My brother says I should just put it on hiatus or discontinue it instead of staying up late at night and hogging the computer. But I refuse to do so. At least not until I think it's totally hopeless.

Thank you guys for reading and understanding my situation.


	16. The Yukata

**Chapter Sixteen:** The Yukata

…_._

**Author-person:** _--hides behind a manga blockade--_ I have sinned, and I'm sorry!

I've been unintentionally neglecting OPBC for a while, so I apologize.

Finally after months of delay, I bring to you _-drumroll- _Chapter Sixteen!

Oh, and a warning: Train is majorly OOC in this one.

….

_She blinked as he led her through the throng of people, pushing past them as they made their way to a quieter place. _

_Somewhere where they could talk._

_She squinted as the lights coming from the paper lanterns seemed to get brighter and brighter. The orange glow looked beautiful on skin. On his eyes. The gold pools captivated her, drowned her as she looked into them with awe. Only when he seemed to tug harder on her hand did her own eyes fix themselves on the dirt road. _

_His hand felt nice around her own, and inwardly, she wished that it would stay like that forever. She would follow him wherever he went, loving him more and more even when her heart had withered and lost all hope. She would love him unconditionally. Because he was more than just the Black Cat, the legendary Eraser to her, he was more than the handsome young man that had saved her one too many times, and he was more than the brother she never had._

_He was Train Heartnet, the man she loved most in the world._

_They took a turn around the corner where the only light that reached them were the colorful showers created by fireworks that exploded in the black velvet sky. And then, she saw it again… His strange, pale face, full of sadness and longing and anguish and everything in between. Rich yellow orbs stared at her as he pushed her against a wall, looking straight at her face, his hands on her shoulders, their coldness seemingly seeping through the fabric of her white yukata._

"_I love you." He said, his tone breathless and somewhat ragged. He leaned in and gently pressed his lips against hers. He removed his hand from her shoulder to thread it in her hair._

"_Train," She said, as he pulled away for a moment, their lips still almost touching. She took in his rich spring scent and felt his breath against her skin. This is what she had always dreamed of. This is what she had always wanted. "I--"_

_He wrapped his arms around her, silencing her as he did so. Train felt her exhale as she buried her face in the crook of his neck, her hair brushing against his cheek._

"_I've always loved you," He whispered._

Eve. _Her head screamed, because she would be the happiest girl on Earth when she heard her name escape his lips._

_His voice rang in her ears as the imaginary walls around them seemed to cave in, burying them in harsh realities that were never destined to be pleasant… The hurt brought about by veracity clawed its way through her chest, wounding her deeper and deeper as he continued to hold her in his arms, saying that dreadful name with all the love and adoration he could muster._

_She let her hands, that were fisted around the front of his shirt, fall limp on her sides._

…_._

**Eve's POV:**

I was hesitant, to say the least, of wearing the traditional Japanese clothing I'd brought just a few days ago with Kyoko-san, specifically for this occasion. I wanted to look good. I believe that nothing's particularly wrong with that. Unless, of course, I stole the clothes for the sake of adopting a cute Japanese-girl image with the hopes of hording all the men in the school festival for myself.

Hell no.

Everyone knows how anti-social I am… why would a self-respecting emo-kid like me put myself in the middle of everyone's attention?

I was being sarcastic about the emo comment, by the way. Just saying in case you haven't noticed.

Sven, my surrogate father, swelled with pride as I came down from my room all dressed up. Train wasn't around at the moment (much to my dismay) since he was out doing a little independent Sweeping… And so, Sven felt it necessary to squeal in all his fatherly glory, much to my and Fenris' chagrin. What's worse is that he didn't neglect to whip out his trusty polaroid camera and started taking countless photographs as I tried (desperately) to tie the sash around my waist more securely. I had no experience whatsoever in wearing a yukata and so I had a little trouble putting it on, but with my frustrated expression, you'd expect Sven to get a hint that I needed some help… But noooo. He just kept clicking away.

Thankfully, my friends were coming around to pick us up because apparently, the thought of leaving me unprotected from a certain Aizawa Makoto with only my clueless father as a line of defense was very unreasonable. Unthinkable even. As Rika fervently pointed out.

"Ready to go?" Ray Cobalt's eyes glinted with amusement as he looked at my outfit. I attempted to hit him with my nano-tech mallet, but that would upset my best friend so I settled with punching him playfully on the arm.

Rika, who was blushing a bright shade of red beside him, rubbed her bare arms self-consciously. I laughed and she gave me a death-glare.

"I see you took Train's advice."

"Shut up." She muttered and dusted the skirt of her pretty blue dress. Another sign of self-consciousness, I thought to myself. Rika was always the tomboyish type and was never used to dresses. So it was no surprise that she felt immensely uncomfortable.

Ray blinked in confusion as I continued to laugh. "I think she looks nice."

Rika blushed harder.

….

"Where's Train?" I asked as we got off the car and started to walk to the school gates. I could already smell the delicious aroma of yakisoba and takoyaki that was being served by one of the stands which I was guessing to be the faculty's.

Sven puffed a cloud of smoke. "He sent me a text message a while ago. He's already inside the campus, stuffing his face full."

When we stepped into the school grounds, I was in awe. Sure, I'd helped the other classes set up for the festival, but I'd never really imagined everything to be so… beautiful. A hundred or so paper lanterns hung on nearly invisible cords, looking as though they were floating in the midair. And on some of the low shrubbery were the twinkle lights I'd set up myself. I felt proud.

Different scents wafted in the air, all of which smelled delectable. I caught a whiff of okonomiyaki and, if my nose wasn't deceiving me, deep-fried breadcrusts. It would be no surprise if, upon arriving, Train rushed to the nearest food stall. I smiled to myself and continued walking.

"Princess!!"

Really, if only Sven hadn't looked back and tapped me on the shoulder, I could've ignored the voice that kept calling my 'nickname'. I knew who it belonged to, and no, it wasn't Train.

The bane of my school life, stood before me, flaunting his hideous little tuxedo. It was colored a shocking purple that would have blinded Sven's uncovered eye and anyone within a ten-meter radius. I think even his shoes were a bright shade of mauve, but I couldn't get a better look, because the bishounen, literally, swooped in for the kill.

He jumped, probably to glomp me to death, and I barely managed to evade. Luckily, someone had pulled me to the side. My face hit 'someone's' chest just as I heard Makoto make an impact on the dirt path.

"Train!" I gasped as I looked up.

He slurped a piece of noodle before draining the contents of his ramen bowl. Charming.

"Princess," He said, rather slowly, as he looked at me with startled eyes. He blinked a number of times before letting my wrist go. "You--"

"Kuro-SAMAAAA!" Something blue streaked past and the next thing I knew, Kyoko was lying on top of Train on the ground. I felt a vein throbbing on the side of my head. Aneurism was sure to come sooner or later. Don't ask.

"Kyoko," Charden, not wearing that strange hat, followed and tried pull the hyperactive girl up from the ground. "Kindly detach yourself from the man."

The girl whined at first, and I was tempted, for the second time this day, to use nano-tech to solve my worldly troubles. Luckily, after some prodding by Charden, Kyoko relented and straightened herself up. I won't say that I didn't feel relieved that they were out of that, er, suggestive position… In fact, I felt immense gratitude towards Charden who seemed to acknowledge my look of appreciation with a nod.

"You don't have to be so jealous." She sighed and hugged his arm. Charden's blue eyes slid sideways.

"Please stop that," He said. "It's quite embarrassing." But she didn't let go and he made no to attempt to jerk his arm away from her. I found all this adorable, but I was also terribly jealous at the same time.

In the background, Makoto was having some trouble picking himself up off the ground. Which came to no surprise since he was athletically-challenged and had difficulty recovering from impacts like the ones he experienced just now. I was mildly pleased by this because the mindless pestering would continue much later.

Train was already on his feet when I turned to face him, the ramen bowl was perched stylishly on his head. I smothered a laugh and helped him dust his shirt, but he seemed to flinch away from me. I wondered if I accidentally touched a wound or something but he just stood there quietly, looking away from me.

….

All throughout the night, he didn't speak one word to me. He often engaged in conversations with Sven, frequently with Rika or Ray (who he seemed strangely fond of), and occasionally with Charden, who was, more often than not, surrounded by his own little crowd of adoring fans. He didn't really 'talk' with Kyoko, if you know what I mean.

I was ignored.

And to think I dressed up especially for him! Really, if I didn't love him so much, I would've shoved that plate of dango down his throat. Did I look so ugly that he avoided to look at me every single time? Every FREAKING time?!

Okay, so maybe internally screaming wasn't a good thing to do, since everyone was giving me weird looks.

"What?" I said, a little miffed.

"Eve-chan, your eyes look as if their going to pop out of their sockets!" Kyoko giggled. I had to roll my eyes.

"Princess, would you like me to get you something? A drink? Another plate of dango?" The pretty boy tossed his girlish bangs and a legion of fan girls swooned. Seriously, it was getting old.

"No. I'd like you to find a rock, crawl under it, and stay there." I said under my breath.

"Pardon?"

"Nothing."

He felt contented with my reply when I gave him a forced smile and he went on and on with his little congratulatory speech (for himself). I'm not sure what he was congratulating himself for, because I was too busy looking at Train who was scuffing his shoes on the ground. I saw Sven looking at me. He quirked a brow and gave a suspicious little smirk.

"Hey Train, go wash up will you? You smell like godawful ramen." Sven nudged him with his briefcase. He winked at me. "Eve'll come with you. Won't you, Eve?"

"Eve-chan, you're eyes are doing it again!"

I couldn't help but to get surprised by what Sven had just done. Did he suspect something? Why was he winking like that?

My stomach twisted in an awful knot as I realization dawned on me.

My surrogate father knew.

"Okay." I said in a barely audible whisper and proceeded to head towards the direction of the outdoor sinks. Train followed silently.

I could hear Makoto's loud protests from behind me, but Rika's angry voice made him shut up. He was smart to do so... And yes, he should be afraid of an angry Rika. Very afraid.

….

I watched while he stood there, his head bowed against the water from the faucet. He was not in a talking mood, and I was disappointed in this. I thought that maybe I'd done something to upset him so much, but I couldn't find a plausible reason to justify my theory. So, I just waited for him to finish and kept my thoughts to myself. Telling him would be no good, anyway…

He ruffled his hair to lessen the dampness and I handed him the towel Ray had been generous enough to lend us. Train gave a half-smile and said thank you. The first two words he'd said to me all evening.

"You're welcome." I said, my voice coming out all squeaky.

He looked at me for a long moment, and I gawked at him, taking in the image of his hair, dripping wet and his eyes that were boring a hole through my head. I blushed_ again_. The fact that I hadn't gotten used to seeing him so, impeccably… good annoyed me. You'd think that after months of being with him, the effect would eventually lessen. But it never worked like that for me.

"You okay?"

That made four words. Yay.

"Yeah."

I felt my jackhammer heart acting up again, beating wildly against my ribcage. If I'd known better I would've thought that I'd broken a few bones by now. "What?" I almost blurted out. His stare was making me uncomfortable. I wanted to puke right then and there… but that wouldn't improve my chances with him, would it?

"That yukata..."

"Eh?"

I blinked as he walked up to me and took my clammy hand into his. Unexpectedly, to say the least. He pulled me along and the borrowed towel lay forgotten on the sink.

….

"…_Saya"_

_And tears finally fell._

…_._

**Author-person: **If this was confusing, please tell me… I'll be happy to clarify it for you guys.

To those who've continued to support this fanfic, I am grateful. I love you all. XD

Oh, and just so you know, this chapter was somewhat influenced by an episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. wherein Ross says 'Rachel' instead of 'Emily' during their wedding ceremony. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, then you've missed out on a lot. F.R.I.E.N.D.S. is awesome. And if you think that I'm a dork for saying that, well, I'm a sucker for cheesy romance… _--shrug-- _what can I say?

Any errors I overlooked? Please tell me, and I'll correct them asap.

Thanks for reading and please review!


	17. Man Talks

**Chapter Seventeen: **Man Talks

Uh… Right. New chapter is up. I'm really sorry for this uber late update… but I just lost inspiration for this story (and pair) and I've been caught up with school, college exams, Senior's Night, graduation and college enrolment….

And oh my freaking god, I'm going to college. O.o

OOC-ness and a nice!Creed.

I feel that the previous chapter was a little too heavy on angst, so I decided to put _some_ humor in this one.

….

He held her smaller _-colder- _hand in his and looked at her with those hazel eyes that she loved so much _-too much- _and suddenly she wished she hadn't agreed to see him.

"I'm sorry."

"I know."

"I didn't know what I was doing and I just kind of… kind of…"

"I know."

"What do I have to do to make it up to you, Eve?"

Her name rolled off his tongue with such ease and familiarity… and intimacy.

Eve shut that last thought out because she didn't want to hurt anymore. She didn't want to _hope_ anymore. Because it was stupid. It was idiotic. It was NEVER going to work. The fact that he had said the wrong name during their first REAL kiss proved that… How could she have thought that it would work out anyway? How could she have imagined them together, happy, contented and in love?

_StupidStupidStupidgirl. _

Eve bit her lip and withdrew her hand slowly. She felt his fingers brush gently against her palm, and for one fleeting second she thought that he had tried to snatch her hand back. Train only looked away and stuffed a fist in his jean's pocket.

"You don't have to do anything. You were probably confused. I was-- I was wearing a yukata. It could have… roused a few memories. You know, people kind of do things impulsively when-- when--"

Train shook his head and bowed low. "It's not a good excuse and you know it."

"Then what _is_ a good excuse?" Eve dared to ask. She stared at his dark head and felt her heart clench at his next few words.

"I don't know." Train really wished he had thought first before saying something so foolish.

….

"Gah. I wanted to shoot myself." The Black Cat slumped over the bar's counter, sloshing alcohol on the smooth surface and causing yet another wave of aneurism for the exasperated bartender. The man grumbled as he cleaned up the mess, whispering something about being underage and irresponsible guardians. Creed Diskenth could only sweatdrop and give the man a very apologetic look.

"Seriously. I mean, how moronic can I possibly get?"

"Is that a rhetorical question? Because I reeeeaaally want to answer that."

"Shut the hell up, Jenos."

"Make me."

The Chronos Number considered himself immensely lucky that Creed was there to prevent a certain Black Cat from throwing a beer glass at his face. ("Train, put that down, or so help me I will shove that up your--")

Soft music and the idle chit-chat of the bar's regular patrons drifted to the three men's ears. It was quiet for a bar, the dark-haired man mused, but the ambience was very welcoming and it seemed like the perfect place to hang-out and do some man-to-man talk.

Or in Jenos' and Train's case, boy-to-boy…

"Both of you should stop acting like immature brats and start being serious here. I thought we came here to talk about something, hm?" Creed, the more reasonable one, crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the two bickering men. At first, he felt rather accomplished… being the only real adult in the situation, but then, seeing that smirk from Train made him think that playing mother-hen wasn't always a good thing.

"Oh hush, Creed. This is perfect practice for when you and Echidna decide to make a family."

_SMACK._

"Ow! Jeez, do you want to kill off all of my brain cells or what?"

The Black Cat rubbed the offended body part and shot his companion a glare. Creed only huffed in mild indignation.

Jenos looked rather amused by it all. "Y'know, both of you should get some sort of sit-com thing going. I'm so sure Rins would love to watch that."

"And you should get a life, Jenos Hazard."

"Touchy. Train is being an uncharacteristic emo-kid. You should put some eyeliner on. It'll set off your 'oh-so-pretty hazel honey whatnot' eyes off."

"Why are we talking about this? _WHY?_"

"Because we are three unattached men who've nothing better to do…"

Creed deadpanned. "I'm engaged."

"Ohohoho. Good for you then, mate! Would you like a martini along with that pat on the back?"

"Ugh. Jenos with an accent is seriously freaking me out. Also, what do you mean unattached? You're with Rins!"

"Unfortunately, our relationship is on indefinite hiatus." The Chronos Number waved a hand dismissively.

Train ran a hand down his face and slammed his glass on the counter to order milk… or whatever. Beer, gin, vodka… Anything. Just to get his mind off things. Off Eve. Off Jenos. It was all terribly frustrating and somehow even _the_ Number Thirteen couldn't handle mixed emotions of anger, annoyance and angst all rolled into one very gross-looking burrito from hell (as Jenos had dubbed it earlier).

There was a moment of dramatic silence, and Creed secretly thought of this as a good sign. Hopefully the pleasant twinkling of piano keys filtering into the room from godknowswhere held some sort of life-changing significance.

Alas, the Diskenth's hopes were all shattered when Jenos decided to speak up.

"Maybe you should talk to her about it again? Like, think of a more sensible answer next time. 'I don't know' is just freakishly vague, man." Jenos patted Train's head gently before downing another glass of gin.

He hadn't expected to meet the two former assassins hanging out at a local bar, of all places. But maybe it was because Jenos thought that Creed was a little too… unstable to be allowed any alcohol, and Train sort of looked too underage to be allowed in. He didn't really think that number Thirteen would have any problems that were remotely close to anything associated with girls. You know, _girls_. The opposite sex, the ones with bigger chests and prettier faces (except for him, of course. Jenos considered himself to have attained god-like perfection)?

"That wouldn't exactly be the best idea… I mean, with my poor conversational skills and all…" Train sighed again and tapped his fingers on the counter. "I hate how I can't forget about Saya. But then again, I can't really help it, right? She's an important person in my life. There's no changing that either."

"But she's dead." Jenos so carelessly pointed out. Train glared at him.

Their other companion stiffened noticeably and turned away for a bit. The silver-haired man busied himself by looking at the assortment of wine bottles and different kinds of drinking glasses on the counter and on the shelves behind the bartender. Creed felt a pang of guilt at the pit of his stomach, and the strong urge to gut himself if required overwhelmed him.

"Oh stop it, Creed. That was eons ago… I'm not guilt-tripping you or anything." Train said cautiously. He put a hand on his friend's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. "Anyway, it's my fault for being too caught up in the past. I mean, I'm trying to move on… but it looks as though there's still a part of me that doesn't want to."

"But if hadn't… well… killed--"

"I'll stop you right there, Creed Diskenth. Not another word. Past is past. You're my friend now, and I've forgiven you for being the demented, fucked-up life-ruiner-slash-terrorist you once were." The dark-haired man winked and turned back to his drink.

"Uhm. Thanks."

"Aww. I truly believe this is man-hug worthy moment, you guys!"

"Go and be gay somewhere else, Hazard!"

"Please… I beg of you both. Just shove the witty comments up your asses and try being serious about this!--Train Heartnet, I am talking here! The least you could do after dragging me out of my house, discontinuing my wedding planning, and forcing me into some bar, is to listen to me give _you _advice."

"But mom--!" _SMACK._

"Fine, fine. I'm sorry! Just keep the magic mallet away! Seriously… shouldn't we be against cartoon violence, or something?"

Creed heaved a very exasperated sigh and rubbed his aching temple. The whole situation was getting awfully ridiculous. One minute, they were all sad and guilty-feeling, the next second they shift to another topic and start shouting at each other like snotty little five-year-olds. Creed felt that a migraine coming and wished that they could get the counseling over and done with before he developed another headache.

Train and Jenos, he established, can't be half-drunk and be adults at the same time.

Another sigh. "Okay, back to the situation at hand. Train, what in god's name were you thinking? Couldn't you have at least cleared out the situation to yourself?"

Train rubbed his head. "I was… well, for the most part …confused, okay? I mean, I like the Princess. I think I really do. But all these situations just jump out at me and… and I get confused even more that I end up blurting out Saya's name... And in case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly the type of guy who has all his thoughts organized into neat files in his head."

Jenos held his shot glass against the light and set it down on the counter. He mused. "… In my opinion, your being a little of a masochist and a sadist at the same time," the man crossed his legs and poked Thirteen's forehead. "See, you're hurting yourself every time you bring Saya up. You're not as 'over' her as you think you are… otherwise you would have never had this problem with Eve in the first place. Also, you're hurting Eve. Give the kid a break, Train. She's sixteen and can't handle that much emotion all at the same time."

The Black Cat bowed low and chewed on his lip unconsciously. Of course he knew that. But what was he supposed to do? Lie to the girl and act like everything was okay?

"I know all that, Jenos. But I… as chessy as this probably sounds… I've never fallen in love with anyone else before. I've never experiences being 'in love'. I don't exactly know what to do, aright? I don't know what to give anyone on Valentines Day. I don't know what the hell White Day is… I don't know what a decent anniversary gift is… I'm clueless about things like this! I don't know what to say to Eve to make things better than they are. I don't know how NOT to break a heart when I've never had a chance to take care of one before. Do you see my point?"

An awkward silence took over. Creed shifted uncomfortably in his seat and clasped both of his hands together. He STILL felt like everything was his fault, after all. And he thought inwardly that maybe… maybe if he hadn't been so selfish all those years ago all of this wouldn't have been happening.

"Well, you've already broken her heart. Why not try to fix it?" The former terrorist fixed his amethyst eyes at the Black Cat. "Though, how to do that, I am clueless. You'll just have to find out on your own… You can't very well lie to her, much less to yourself. Maybe you should try being more honest?"

"Hm. Creed has a good idea there. You haven't told Eve what you really feel… if you made things clearer for her, she would probably feel more at ease…" Jenos winked.

"Or you could try sweeping her off her feet and taking her to a small island getaway and--"

"Are you kidding me? Are you fucking kidding me?"

"No. Not really."

Train shot Jenos a very sour look and propped his chin on folded arms. "What the hell am I doing? I shouldn't be asking you for advice anyways."

"Excuse me for trying to help you out. In case you haven't noticed I was trying to be _nice_."

"Well, I appreciate the nice-ness but it hardly makes my situation better, doesn't it?"

"Maybe if ya hadn't decided to be all Ross-like and didn't say the wrong name--"

"Wait, what are you talking about?"

"Calm down, you two. Seriously."

Creed only sighed as the babbling and verbal warfare ensued. He drank the remainder of his water (because Echidna had asked -pleaded- with him not to drink any liquor) and waited until the two men squabbling in front of him calmed down, acted a little less immature and eventually tried to listen to what else he had to say… Sure enough, it didn't take too long for the profanity to run out and for the shouting to die down.

The silver-haired man was glad he didn't have to shove ice down their throats to get them to shut up.

"Train, I personally think that you should try talking to Eve again. Just to clear things up. You can't leave the girl with such an unsatisfying answer, after all…" Creed patted his friend's shoulder lightly and gave him a slight smile. "I think the girl deserves an explanation. You can't just kiss somebody and go off saying other people's names like that. It's just… wrong."

"Wronger than youz trying 'ta take over the worllld?"

"Uhm. I don't think so, Jenos but--"

Jenos held his hand up at Creed's face and looked at the man with disinterest. He took hold of another glass and chugged it down, spilling liquor all of his shirt and even managing to flip his hair with a flourish. Creed blinked and looked at the counter, eyes widening at the shotglasses scattered all over and the bartender lying unconscious on the floor.

He did NOT remember seeing that many glasses and an unconscious man before the argument started.

_I think _I'm _going to get a an aneurism._

"O' course it's not wronger ya, dumbass! It's the wrongest thing evah!" And then Train just sort of stood on the bar stool and did a little happy dance, apparently trying to mock Jenos who was in the process of taking his shirt off and showing off his (rather impressive) six-pack.

It was then that Creed established that the bar wasn't the best place to do counseling.

"I should've considered the ice cream parlor."

….

**Author-person:** A little filler chapter and a little humor to lighten up the mood. If I manage to finish up the work that's been dumped on me (it doesn't feel like summer vacation at all T.T), and if I manage to rack my brain for more words, I will update within the week. I won't promise anything, though.

Please be patient, okay? For all of you who've supported this story up until now, I thank you so much. :')


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